Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued Palworld developer Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court on September 18, 2024, alleging patent infringement and seeking an injunction and damages. Pocketpair says the complaint identifies three patents. A later report says the plaintiffs narrowed their claims to older versions of the game; that is a reported procedural change, not a ruling on infringement. The materials available as of October 8, 2026 do not establish what happened at a reported October 1 hearing or whether a judgment followed.
What Nintendo and The Pokémon Company allege
The Pokémon Company announced that it and Nintendo filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court on September 18, 2024. The plaintiffs said they were seeking an injunction against Palworld and damages. Those are allegations and requested remedies; they do not establish that a court found infringement. The Pokémon Company’s filing announcement.
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What Pocketpair says is in the case
In its public report, Pocketpair says the plaintiffs identify three patents and seek an injunction against the game, as well as damages for part of the period between patent registration and the lawsuit filing. This describes Pocketpair’s account of the complaint; it is not an independently verified court finding or a determination on the merits. Pocketpair’s report on the lawsuit.
What changed in November 2025
Automaton West reported, based on its review of Tokyo District Court civil-case records, that the plaintiffs revised the scope of their claims in November 2025 so that they applied only to older versions of Palworld. A change in the versions covered by a claim does not mean the court accepted the allegations or that either side prevailed. Automaton West’s report on the reported claim-scope change.
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- Taking advantage of current generation hardware, this 3D action-adventure platformer is packed with smoother intuitive gameplay, updated visuals including a shiny new look for PAC-MAN and the Ghosts, an improved UI, fine-tuned environmental details
- Adventure through the main campaign in QUEST MODE, play a collection of 3D mazes in MAZE MODE, & clear QUEST MODE to unlock the original PAC-MAN game in ORIGINAL MODE
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Has the lawsuit been decided?
The available information does not establish what happened at the reported October 1, 2026 hearing, or whether a judgment followed. It therefore does not support saying that the case has been decided, dismissed, won, or lost. The latest procedural development described here is the November 2025 report about claims applying only to older game versions.
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What to keep in mind
- The filing was announced by The Pokémon Company as a patent-infringement case in Tokyo.
- The three-patent detail and description of the damages period come from Pocketpair’s account of the complaint.
- The reported narrowing of claim scope is a procedural development, not a court decision on infringement.
- The outcome and post-hearing status are not established by the information available as of October 8, 2026.
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