Nintendo Denied Japanese Patent For Pokemon-Like Capturing Mechanic

"In September, Nintendo was granted a US patent for "the fundamental gameplay mechanic of summoning a character and letting it fight another" within a video game. At the time, that was seen as an attempt to block any future Pokemon imitators like Palworld. Nintendo went out for another Pokemon-inspired patent in Japan, but the outcome wasn't in its favor this time."

"Nintendo filed a Japanese patent for a mechanic in a game that allows the player to throw an item that captures a character, like the Pokeballs in Pokemon. However, the application was denied because a third party submitted evidence from Ark, Craftopia, Monster Hunter 4 and more to prove that the mechanic isn't limited to Pokemon games and that it already exists."

"GamesFray first noticed the rejection, and added that it's plausible that the third party was Pocketpair, the developer behind Palworld. While that would make sense, it's conjecture for now. Pocketpair is still engaged in a legal battle with Nintendo over Palworld's alleged infringement on Nintendo's preexisting patents. That led Pocketpair to remove Pal Spheres and other features from Palworld that fell under the patents held by Nintendo."

Nintendo previously secured a US patent covering a summoning-and-fighting gameplay mechanic and later sought a Japanese patent for a Pokéball-like capture item. The Japanese application was denied after a third party submitted prior-art evidence citing games such as Ark, Craftopia and Monster Hunter 4 to demonstrate that capture mechanics predate Pokémon and are not unique to that franchise. The third party may have been Pocketpair, developer of Palworld, which is engaged in legal disputes with Nintendo and removed Pal Spheres and related features. Nintendo retains the right to appeal the Japanese Patent Office ruling.

Read at GameSpot