Japanese patent officials reject one of Nintendo’s Pokémon patent applications for being too similar to ARK, Monster Hunter, and—embarrasingly—Pokémon Go

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As a Nintendo fan, I’ve been following the Palworld lawsuit closely, and it’s interesting to see how Nintendo is protecting its ideas. The patents they’re using against Pocketpair are just part of a bigger push to lock down protections for things like catching, battling, and riding creatures in games. But things hit a snag recently – the Japanese Patent Office actually rejected one of Nintendo’s new patent applications! Apparently, they didn’t think it was different enough from what’s already out there to deserve a patent. It’s a bit of a setback for Nintendo, and I saw the news on GamesFray.

Although Japanese patent application JP 2024-031879 isn’t central to the Palworld lawsuit, it’s connected to the patents Nintendo claims are being violated. This application is linked to both a parent patent Nintendo is citing and a child patent stemming from it. Its rejection might allow Pocketpair to request a similar review of the patents they’re accused of infringing.

The patent application that was turned down detailed a system for aiming and throwing objects, similar to how you capture or fight creatures in the game Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Patents are only approved if they present a truly new idea – something different enough from existing technology to deserve legal protection.

Nintendo argued in its unsuccessful application that Pokémon Legends: Arceus introduced a new invention by blending third-person aiming with two different ways to throw items. These items either impact a character directly—like temporarily disabling them or catching them—or start a battle by sending out a Pokémon to fight.

The JPO examiner disagreed, because somebody brought receipts.

The Patent Office rejected the application, stating they found evidence of similar game mechanics in existing games. Specifically, they considered information showing that aiming and projectile systems like the one proposed were already used in games released before 2024. Examples of these earlier games include ARK (with its creature battling and status effects), Monster Hunter (which features tranq bombs), Craftopia (monster catching), and Pokémon Go (with its Poké Ball aiming system).

According to a translation of their official response, the Japan Patent Office rejected the application’s claims because they believed someone with basic knowledge in the relevant gaming field could have easily come up with the same ideas, as shown by existing games.

The JPO examiner’s decision isn’t the last word, and Nintendo can appeal to a higher court in Japan, though that would take a significant amount of time. While this rejection of Nintendo’s application doesn’t change the likelihood of the Palworld lawsuit, it might allow Pocketpair to challenge the validity of the patents Nintendo is using against them.

GamesFray has observed that judges in patent cases often consider the opinions of patent examiners at the Japan Patent Office (JPO) when making their decisions. Pocketpair also has a way to formally ask the judge to take the JPO’s rejection of application 031879 into account when evaluating the patents involved in the lawsuit, similar to a legal procedure used in US courts.

Given Nintendo’s recent strong claim that fan-made modifications aren’t legitimate games, it’s likely they will carefully examine all ways to strengthen their patent claims as the legal case moves forward.

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2025-10-31 20:47