The Pokémon creators are accusing the development studio Pocketpair of multiple patent infringements.
Update from September 19, 11:12 a.m.: In the meantime, Palworld developer Pocketpair has also spoken out on the official Discord server Apparently, fans of the studio have to expect that the countermeasures taken in response to the lawsuit will delay the further development of Palworld and potential new games. WKAn excerpt from Pocketpair’s statement:
We have been made aware of the lawsuit and will take the appropriate legal action and investigate the allegations of patent infringement. At this time, we are not aware of the specific patents that we are accused of infringing, nor have we been informed of such details. […]
It’s unfortunate that we’ll be forced to spend a lot of time on things unrelated to game development because of this legal dispute. However, we’ll do our utmost for our fans and make sure that indie developers are not prevented from pursuing their creative ideas. […]
on January 19, 2024 was overshadowed by accusations of plagiarism. The gist: many of the cute monsters in the game, called Pals
, look strikingly similar to the popular Pokémon.
What followed was an investigative race by numerous internet users, who compared 3D models down to the smallest detail and came to the conclusion:
. But there were also many dissenting votes, which in turn countered with arguments.
But everyone agreed on one thing: Nintendo, as a shareholder in The Pokémon Company, will take action against it. But nothing happened – for eight months. Now the company is suddenly getting serious.
The accusation: patents have been violated
It is unclear what evidence the Pokémon Company’s lawyers have gathered in recent months. The fact is that Nintendo has issued an official press release , stating several patent infringements.
The accusation is that the game developed and distributed by the defendants game Palworld
infringes multiple patent rights, and an injunction against the infringement and damages are sought.
To protect our valuable intellectual property, which we have built up over many years through our efforts, we will continue to take the necessary action against infringements of our intellectual property, including our brands.
What are the prospects of success? A lawyer speaks
Experience shows that it can take some time before a verdict is reached in such a matter. When two companies are in dispute, it can take months before a ruling is made.
As early as January, Nintendo announced that it had set its sights on the Steam hit. So it’s safe to assume that the past few months have been spent on analysis and evidence preservation, and that the Japanese game maker is now sure it has enough incriminating material to go on.
But there are also doubters who see the judicial ball more on Pocketpair’s side of the field. For example, the business lawyer Richard Hoeg, who is skeptical on X (formerly Twitter) that the prosecution can be successful.
Probably going to need more specifics before I can comment more completely, but Palworld is such a different type of game from Pokémon, it’s hard to imagine what patents (*not* copyrights) might have been even plausibly infringed. Initial gut reaction is Nintendo may be reaching. https://t.co/3L2D5EZ7hh
— Richard Hoeg (@HoegLaw) September 18, 2024
The new buzz around Palworld could perhaps even bring the game some welcome attention again. The big hype is long gone, as the Steam metrics impressively show. In January, shortly after the release and at the height of the boom, over two million players were playing at peak times. Now, only around 15,000 fans remain loyal to Palworld.
