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Nintendo and Pokémon file lawsuit against Palworld (Image - Pocketpair)
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, the developers of Palworld Nine months after its release. The game came as a massive hit, dethroning many bestsellers, and is currently in the third spot for concurrent players on Steam. The lawsuit seems to regarding patent infringement by Palworld.
“This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights,” the official statement from Nintendo states.
When Palworld originally released, people were citing that the Nintendo lawsuit was just waiting to happen another. Six months without any action made people believe there might be nothing Nintendo can do, but Nintendo has now struck from the shadows alongside The Pokémon Company.
Similar to Pokémon, Palword is a monster collecting game which led people to believe that it can be an issue, after-all, many Pals had a resemblance to Pokémon. However, an interesting thing to note is that the lawsuit isn’t regarding the plagiarism of the Pals, as it would come under copyright infringement.
Also Read: Palworld announces massive update with new biome and pals
Palword developers responds to the lawsuit
With the news spreading like wildfire, fans are seeking response from Pocketpair. The company also released a statement addressing the lawsuit, revealing that at the moment the company is also unaware of the specifics.
“We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement. At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details,” Pocketpair wrote.
Regarding the Lawsuit
— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) September 19, 2024
Yesterday, a lawsuit was filed against our company for patent infringement.
We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement.
At this moment, we are unaware…
Popular streamer and gave developer Pirate Software believes that Nintendo is aiming for the game mechanics, including Pal Sphere, which resembles Poké Balls. The patents were also filed after the announcement in Japan and with the popularity of the game in the US, which leads him to believe Nintendo was already prepping in case the game got too popular.
“Overall, I feel that patenting mechanics in this way limits games and gives us worse games overall. We should be copyrighting characters, art, music, and other content. Patenting mechanics sucks for everyone,” he further stated.