For the past year or so, Nintendo has been embroiled in a lawsuit against Pocketpair’s Palworld, allegeding that the monster-taming game infringed on several patents related to the Pokemon franchise.

According to a report from outlet Gamesfray, Nintendo has hit a bit of a stumbling block in the lawsuit, which is taking place in their home country of Japan. It seems that the Japan Patent Office (JPO) has rejected one of the patents that Nintendo is trying to use in its lawsuit, specifically one that relates to “monster catching” mechanics.

The rejection is on the grounds of the patent not representing an “inventive step”, defined as something more unique than just meshing two pre-existing ideas together. “Monster catching” mechanics have existed in other games prior to Pokemon, so it is presumed that the JPO did not find anything in Nintendo’s patent that suggested a unique enough execution of the idea.

Despite this setback, Nintendo still has the option of overturning the JPO’s decision either by convincing the patent examiner that the patent indeed constitutes an “innovative step” or by appealing to the Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC). Even if they fail the appeal however, the decision is non-binding on the judge presiding over the Nintendo’s lawsuit, although it would probably significantly weaken the company’s case.

Stay tuned for more updates as they come.

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