Ever since September 2024,Nintendohas filed a lawsuit againstPalworldfor copyright infringement, claiming thatPalworldsteals intellectual property from thePokémonseries. The Pokémon Company has leveled multiple accusations againstPalworld’s company Pocketpair, which has led to a back-and-forth legal battle. However, recently Nintendo has altered a key patent during the course of the struggle, which could drastically impact the results of the lawsuit.
According to an article byGames Fray, Nintendo had a surprising update whenthe company changed the language behind one of its patents during the middle of the ongoing lawsuit. This comes after The Pokémon Company’s claims that Pocketpair’s game directly infringes on several patents, holding the basis for legal action. Up until this point,Pocketpair’s defense has arguedthat these patents were never infringed on in the first place.
Nintendo’s Lawsuit Finally Has An Update On Patents
An Application Could Change The Language Behind Nintendo’s Copyright
A few months ago, Nintendo went to the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and requested a modification to one of the patents within thePalworldlawsuit. These requests have been approved and published now, revealing thatNintendo wanted to change their patent regarding the"smooth switching of riding objects,“such as moving from flying on an avian creature to another land-based mount.
This update reflects a consistent rigidity inPalworld’s legal defense, which has argued that the patents Nintendo has used for the case aren’t valid enough to claim infringement. Almost in an effort to complicate the case,Nintento’s patent update added far more language without changing the core technical termsused for its copyright. This means that the reworked claim is almost intended to create obstacles rather than reinvigorate Nintendo’s claims.
Why The Palworld Lawsuit Language Is So Confusing
“Even When” Statements Are Strange To Include
The updated patent has a new, lengthy paragraph regarding characters boarding different aerial characters seamlessly, filled with technical jargon that is even difficult for legal experts to unravel. However,what strikes the most confusion is the inclusion of an"even when"statement, seen at the beginning of the rideable mount section of the patent.
The phrase"even"is rarely used in legal text, as it is far too subjective for the terminology needed to narrow down what copyright is being claimed. According to Florian Mueller from the Game Fray article,this deliberate use of"even"could be Nintendo’s attempt to make their patent more vague. When a patent is vague, it is harder to claim it as invalid when a lawsuit for infringement is being discussed.
“I’ve been following patent litigation for 15 years (for the better part of that period as a consultant) and have seen many claims that were amended, but I’ve never seen “even when” or “even if” in a patent claim. It’s bizarre.”
The quote above, also from Florian Mueller, reflects how effective Pocketpair’s defense must be in the ongoing lawsuit. As a result, Nintendo’s inability to narrow down a solid infringement claim has led to them altering the language of their patent, making it confusing on purpose.The overly-long paragraph and the use of subjective terms might be getting thrown up as shields, so a judge won’t try to decipher the complicated language and possibly determine the patent invalid.
This tug-of-war between Nintendo’s attempts to prove copyright infringement and Pocketpair’s efforts to disprove the lawsuit by marking Nintendo patents as invalid has led to many complicated paths this struggle could take.Palworldhas endured many changesNintendohas made throughout the lawsuit, but it’s unclear if this tactic will yield significant ground for either side.
