Nintendo's patent lawsuit against Palworld has taken an unexpected turn, with the Japanese gaming giant modifying one of the patents central to the case mid-suit. The move raises questions about the viability of Nintendo's legal strategy against Palworld and is particularly unusual due to the language used in the new patent.
The ongoing legal drama started in September 2024, when The Pokemon Company and Nintendo alleged Pocketpair's Palworld infringed on several of their jointly held patents as part of a lawsuit filed in Tokyo. Pocketpair subsequently presented a dual-defense strategy: it argued that the patents at the center of the case are invalid, while also claiming Palworld isn't infringing on them to begin with.
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Posts 4In a new development, Nintendo recently requested an amendment of one of its patents-in-suit from the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Games Fray reports. The patent in question, JP7528390, describes a system for seamlessly switching between ridable objects or mounts. While the request was granted, an examiner deemed that the revised version of the anti-Palworld patent did not introduce any new technical matter. What it did introduce was a reworked claim worded as a large sequence of run-on sentences numbering 260 words, which can be found on pages 5 and 6.
New Anti-Palworld Patent Uses Unusual Language
CloseThis claim, which describes conditions for triggering the ride-switching implementation, includes a provision that it works in the air "even when" a non-flying mount is selected. Games Fray's patent analyst Florian Mueller describes this phrase as highly unusual. "I’ve been following patent litigation for 15 years (for the better part of that period as a consultant) and have seen many claims that were amended, but I’ve never seen 'even when' or 'even if' in a patent claim," he explains. The amendment itself may have been prompted by Pocketpair previously arguing Palworld never implemented the mount-switching system described in Nintendo's patent. In that context, this expanded claim appears less clear.
I’ve been following patent litigation for 15 years (for the better part of that period as a consultant) and have seen many claims that were amended, but I’ve never seen “even when” or “even if” in a patent claim. It’s bizarre.
Amending a patent-in-suit mid-case is an uncommon move, potentially indicating that Nintendo feared its intellectual property could be invalidated based on how the proceedings were unfolding. This turn of events also suggests that Nintendo still lacks a solid basis to bring a lawsuit in the U.S. Not only has Pocketpair recently removed the allegedly infringing features from Palworld, but it’s also simultaneously argued that those elements were never infringing to begin with, on top of claiming the patents themselves are invalid. As a result, Palworld has become what Mueller calls a "moving target" for infringement—one that Nintendo and The Pokemon Company’s attorneys are finding difficult to hit.
Nintendo Could Lose the Patent It's Suing Over
Mueller—who has no ties to Pocketpair—previously called the Palworld lawsuit "a clear case of bullying" from Nintendo. In a new statement to Game Rant, the long-time patent analyst suggested Nintendo's current strategy hinges on obfuscation rather than legal merit. "Nintendo is hoping that its 'even when' wording and the fact that the new claim language is long-winded will dissuade the judge from deeming the patent invalid," he explained. However, Mueller doesn't expect this to happen, noting that this judge has a history of focusing on substance rather than linguistic smokescreen, like when he ruled that AI-generated inventions cannot be patented back in May 2024.
