Japan Patent Office rejects Nintendo’s monster capturing patent
By Marco Wutz
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company did not invent monster capturing mechanics in video games, the Japan Patent Office ruled. As reported by Gamesfray, the JPO has rejected the application for a patent related to such mechanics by Nintendo, arguing that other games – including ARK, Craftopia, and Pokémon GO – used similar techniques predating Nintendo’s patent application.
Nintendo can still modify the application and try again, but at the moment the company is unable to claim that other monster-capturing games are violating its intellectual property rights when it comes to this specific aspect of their gameplay.
As Gamesfray stated, this decision does not have a direct impact on the ongoing legal battle with Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, which Nintendo sued for patent infringement. The decision might have a less direct influence on the lawsuit, however, since the rejection of this patent might bring into question the validity of the related patents involved in that debate.
It’s certainly a new arrow in Pocketpair’s legal quiver as this battle drags on, even if not a decisive one.
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