Pocketpair, the developer behind the 2024 breakout hit Palworld, has shed new light on its ongoing lawsuit from Nintendo and The Pokemon Company. Back in September, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company announced that they would together be suing Pocketpair for damages as a result of Palworld infringing upon various patents that the companies held. At the time, details were still sparse on what exactly Pocketpair had infringed upon with Palworld, but that info has now come about.
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In a new statement on its website, Pocketpair unveiled that it is being sued for violating three patents owned by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company. These patents, which are numbered 7545191, 7493117, and 7528390, are all tied to the catching and riding mechanics of Palworld. While the patents in question were only officially filed in the months following Palworld’s release, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company had started the process of these patents in 2021 prior to Pokemon Legends: Arceus arriving.
Related: Palworld Developer Responds to Nintendo/Pokemon Lawsuit, Suggests Possible Content Delays
“As announced on September 19, 2024, The Pokémon Company and Nintendo Co., Ltd. have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us,” Pocketpair wrote. The Plaintiffs claim that Palworld, released by us on January 19, 2024, infringes upon the following three patents (7545191, 7493117, and 7528390) held by the Plaintiffs, and are seeking an injunction against the game and compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit. […] We will continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings.”
Perhaps the most curious thing about this ongoing lawsuit is that Pocketpair says Nintendo and The Pokemon Company aren’t seeking an unquestionable amount of money. Specifically, both companies are suing for five million Yen plus additional “late payment damages”. This equates to only about $65,000 in total, which isn’t much whatsoever.
Still, if Pocketpair were to accept the terms of this lawsuit and pay out Nintendo and The Pokemon Company, it would have to then alter Palworld itself to account for these patents. To that end, Pocketpair might try to fight back on this matter in court, although doing so could cost the company countless thousands (or even millions) in legal fees. Which route Pocketpair opts to go down still remains to be seen, but this Palworld lawsuit is far from being finalized just yet.
[H/T PC Gamer]
