Rumor: Nintendo Applying For Patents In The US To Prepare Palworld Lawsuit

Last year, Nintendo filed a lawsuit in Japan against Palworld developer Pocketpair, alleging that their game had violated several of Nintendo’s patents.

While the lawsuit is ongoing in their home country, Nintendo appears to be hard at work trying to get a similar case going in the US. According to a reports, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have been trying to get various patents through to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with 22 of their claims being rejected.

However, Nintendo recently managed to secure two patents: No. 12,179,111 and No. 12,220,638, which both relate to the Pokemon Legends Arceus style aiming and throwing capture mechanics that Palworld took inspiration from. They are also working on trying to get a third patent through, which is related to the ride Pokemon mechanics.

These US patents are very similar to the ones that Nintendo is allegedly using to attack Palworld in their Japanese lawsuit, and would likely be used to file an equivalent suit in the country.

Although neither Nintendo nor Pocketpair have said anything further about the proceedings, Palworld has already made adjustments to the Pal Sphere mechanics to be less similar to Pokemon, possibly hinting that things aren’t going well for them behind the scenes. Stay tuned for more updates on the situation as they come.

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