Nintendo’s US Patent 12,403,397 B2 covers a specific process for placing a summoned sub-character and controlling how it moves or enters a battle. Reports on April 1, 2026 said the USPTO had rejected all 26 claims in a nonfinal reexamination action; that report did not mean the patent had been finally cancelled. The criticism that Nintendo should never have received it is an argument about the patent’s grant, not an official finding.
What Nintendo’s patent describes
The patent’s formal title is “Storage medium, information processing system, information processing apparatus, and game processing method.” The patent record identifies Nintendo Co., Ltd. as the assignee. Its described system involves a player character and a summoned “sub-character,” with game processing that determines where the sub-character is placed and what happens in relation to an enemy.
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The claimed sequence
- The player character moves through the game.
- The game determines whether the summoned sub-character is placed at a location where an enemy is present.
- Depending on that circumstance, the sub-character may enter battle or move automatically.
- A further player input can direct the sub-character to another location.
That is a description of the implementation at issue, not a patent on the broad concept of summoning creatures to fight. The boundary of any patent right depends on its claims and how they are interpreted, rather than on a headline shorthand.
Why the Pokémon wording needs care
“Summon a character and let it fight Pokémon” captures the controversy’s popular framing, but it can imply more than the patent record establishes. The material described here concerns Nintendo’s game-processing patent; it does not establish that the patent names Pokémon, covers every game with creature battles, or involves a legal claim against a particular Pokémon game. The relevant question is the scope and validity of the patent’s specific claims.
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What happened in the reexamination
PC Gamer and Nintendo Life reported on April 1, 2026 that a USPTO examiner had issued a nonfinal rejection of all 26 claims during reexamination. Because the action was nonfinal, Nintendo could respond before the agency reached a final decision. A nonfinal rejection is a consequential step in the proceeding, but it is not itself a final cancellation.
The reporting available for this account does not establish whether Nintendo responded or whether a later final action had issued by October 8, 2026. The USPTO’s general explanation of ex parte reexamination says a request may be based on prior-art patents or printed publications; that general explanation does not supply this patent’s case-specific file history.
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What prior art was reported
PC Gamer reported that the examiner relied primarily on four earlier video-game patent applications. It also reported that one Nintendo application figured in the examiner’s reasoning against all 26 claims. Those details come from secondary reporting; they should not be mistaken for a direct account of the examiner’s written reasoning here.
Prior art can matter because patentability is assessed against what was already disclosed, including in patents and printed publications. But the presence of earlier material does not, by itself, establish the final outcome: the examiner’s action, any response, and any later agency decision determine how the proceeding develops.
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Why critics objected to the grant
The criticism has two parts that should not be conflated. One is legal: whether the claims satisfy patentability requirements in light of prior art. The other is a policy concern: whether claims broad enough to create uncertainty could discourage other developers even before a final ruling. A report of a nonfinal rejection informs the first debate; it does not by itself measure or prove a chilling effect.
Videogame patent lawyer Kirk Sigmon told GamesRadar, “This allowance should not have happened, full stop.” Don McGowan, identified by GamesRadar as The Pokémon Company’s former chief legal officer, said: “I wish Nintendo and Pokemon good luck when the first other developer just entirely ignores this patent and, if those companies sue that developer, the developer shows decades of prior art.” These are attributed opinions, not USPTO conclusions or findings that a court has made.
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What the reported reexamination count does—and doesn’t—show
Nintendo Life reported that 175 of 15,000 ex parte reexamination requests since 1981 had been director-ordered, attributing the figure to reporting about the USPTO director’s order. It is a historical count, not a current annual rate and not a probability that this patent would be rejected or cancelled.
How to read the controversy
- Patent scope: the described process is more specific than the general idea of summoning a creature to fight.
- Procedural status: the April 2026 rejection was reported as nonfinal, so it should not be described as a completed cancellation.
- Criticism: expert objections and concerns about effects on developers are opinions and policy arguments, distinct from an agency’s final disposition.
The headline’s “should never have received” is therefore a defensible position in the debate over the patent’s grant, but it is not the same thing as saying the USPTO had finally revoked the patent.
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