Over the past few years, Nintendo has tried its hand at patenting game mechanics that are similar to ideas present in the Pokémon games. Recently, people have speculated this was an attempt to prop up its defense in the ongoing lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocket Pair, which Nintendo claims infringed on multiple copyrights. In a crushing blow, however, Nintendo has been denied a patent in Japan for a Pokémon-esque capture mechanic, which just might turn the tides of that ongoing legal case.
As reported by GamesFray, the Japan Patent Office officially rejected Nintendo’s application for a “monster capture” mechanic on the grounds that the mechanic lacked an “inventive step.” As GamesFray explains, “inventive step” is legal parlance for an idea that is not an obvious marriage of two or more pre-existing concepts that a person would have come up with had they had skill in the art. While Pokémon may have popularized the idea of capturing monsters, the very idea is not unique. The way in which Pokémon executes the idea would be the unique part.
The original application for such an idea was made by Nintendo in March 2024. It described the act of catching a character in-game similar to how it was executed in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. If you remember, Palworld was released in January of 2024, so Nintendo was likely scrambling to secure patents in an effort to bolster its legal defense. It’s honestly a little stunning that Nintendo didn’t already have a patent on something Pokémon related over the last 30 years, but I guess the company never felt the need to do so.
Now, this rejection isn’t the end of the story. Nintendo can appeal the decision and attempt to persuade the JPO that its idea is original. GamesFray also mentions that Nintendo could appeal to a specialized court called the Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC) and somehow even wind up in an endless loop of having different bodies examine its claim. Still, there seems to be no direct impact on the ongoing Palworld court case, though it’s not a good sign for Nintendo with regards to other patents.
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Written by Peter Glagowski
Peter has been a freelance gaming and film critic for over seven years. His passion for Nintendo is only matched by the size of his collection.
