Palworld developer Pocketpair has shared details of a patent infringement lawsuit filed against it by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company in September, shedding light on the plaintiffs’ claims. Two companies are seeking an injunction against Palworld, a survival game featuring monsters that allegedly resemble creatures from the Pokémon franchise. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are also seeking over ¥5 million (roughly Rs. 27.7 lakh) in damages from Pocketpair.
Nintendo, The Pokémon Company seek injunctive relief, damages
On Friday, Pocketpair released the details of Palworld’s lawsuit, listing three specific patents that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company claim the developer infringed.
“Plaintiffs allege that Palworld, released by us on January 19, 2024, infringes the following three patents owned by Plaintiffs and seek injunctive relief against the game and damages for a portion of the damages incurred between the date the patents were filed and the date this lawsuit was filed,” it said. in a developer post on your site.
The portion of the lawsuit related to the targeted patents includes patent no. 7545191, 7493117 and 7528390. According to the notice, all three patents were filed and registered after the launch of Palworld on January 19, 2024.
According to the developer, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking an injunction against Palworld and are demanding 5 million yen each plus late payment compensation. “We will continue to defend our position in this case through future legal proceedings,” Pocketpair said.
In September, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against manufacturer Palworld. “It is very unfortunate that this lawsuit will force us to spend a significant amount of time on non-game development issues,” Pocketpair said in their response.
Palworld was a breakout hit on Steam and Xbox when it launched in January, but drew accusations of plagiarism over its creature design. The survival game features Pokemon-style animals, or pals, that can be captured and tamed to battle, roam, and base-build in the game’s open world, earning the moniker “Pokémon with Weapons.”
Following the game’s launch, the Pokémon Company, which manages Pokémon’s intellectual property rights, said it intended to investigate any alleged copyright infringement in the newly released game. “We have not granted any permission to use Pokémon intellectual property or assets in this game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate action to address any actions that infringe Pokémon-related intellectual property rights,” the company said.
