Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been granted a patent related to the Pokémon series which could pose “a fundamental threat to creativity and innovation in the games industry,” according to a new report and analysis from a patent lawyer. The patent relates to gameplay mechanics introduced in the Pokémon Scarlet and Violet games, but the broad nature of the newly issued grant could impact games that use summoning mechanics.
As originally reported by Games Fray, U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397 was filed in 2023 by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company, and granted approval by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Sept. 2 without objection. That patent covers the gameplay mechanic of summoning a character and letting it fight another — in other words, your standard Pokémon battle. Naturally, the full patent is more specifically defined, denoting a character moving in a virtual space who summons a “sub character” that can move and automatically fight another character.
You can review the full 45-page patent at the Internet Archive for an in-depth explanation.
Games Fray, which covers regulatory issues related to the gaming industry, and has closely monitored the legal battle between Palworld maker PocketPair and The Pokémon Company, calls the quick approval of patent ‘397 an “actually shocking” development. Author Florian Mueller argues the patent grant is “bad news for the videogame industry.”
Patent lawyer Kirk Sigmon seems to agree with that take. In a report from PC Gamer, Sigmon says the USPTO’s quick and uncontested approval of patent ‘397 was “extremely unusual and raises a large number of red flags.”
“[B]ad patents like this cast a massive shadow on the industry,” Sigmon said.
Whether Nintendo and The Pokémon Company will engage in “lawfare” over their patent approvals — beyond their war with PocketPair — remains to be seen. But what is clear is that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have new tools with which to go after Pokémon-inspired competitors that might offend the Japanese companies behind those games. The Palworld developer has already changed its game in response to legal action.
