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Two related applications were rejected at different times
The headline can sound as if there was one application and one rejection. The reported record instead involves two distinct applications in the same broader patent family, with separate examination histories.
| Application | Reported development | What the reporting says |
|---|---|---|
| No. 2026-019762 | JPO notice reported in July 2026 | A divisional application describing an in-game monster-capturing system. AUTOMATON WEST reported that the JPO maintained its rejection after addressing the applicants’ objections. |
| No. 2024-031879 | JPO rejection notice dated October 22, 2025 | A separate related application. Nintendo Life reported that the JPO found a lack of inventive step and characterized that rejection as non-final. |
So, when referring to the latest development, the precise description is that the JPO maintained rejection of divisional application No. 2026-019762. It should not be conflated with the 2025 rejection of No. 2024-031879.
What the JPO considered in the 2026 application
AUTOMATON WEST reported that the examiner’s initial rejection relied in part on a 2013 gameplay video of the fan game Pokémon Generations. According to that outlet’s account of the notice, Nintendo argued that the cited game infringed its copyrights and objected to the examiner’s descriptions of the characters and video. The examiner reportedly treated the copyright issue as irrelevant to whether the claimed invention involved an inventive step, and rejected Nintendo’s interpretation of the examiner’s treatment of the game as officially licensed.
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“The mere possibility that the reasons for rejection could be subject to such an unreasonable misunderstanding has no bearing on the assessment of inventive step.”
That is AUTOMATON WEST’s English translation of a sentence it reproduces from the examiner’s notice; the Japanese notice itself was not independently reviewed for this account. The point reported is a distinction between the copyright status of material cited during examination and the patent-law question of whether the application’s claimed invention was inventive.
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The earlier application had a different set of reported examples
For application No. 2024-031879, Nintendo Life reported that the JPO’s October 22, 2025 notice considered prior examples from games including ARK, Craftopia, Monster Hunter 4, Pokémon GO and Kantai Collection when assessing inventive step. The outlet described examples involving aiming or throwing objects, creature capture or battles, and related mechanics.
Those examples belong to the reporting on the 2025 application. They should not be presented as the prior-art list for the separate 2026 application; AUTOMATON WEST’s account of that application instead highlights the Pokémon Generations video.
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The rejection is not a ruling on the Palworld lawsuit
Pocketpair’s November 8, 2024 public statement says Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued the Palworld developer and asserted granted Japanese patents 7545191, 7493117 and 7528390. Pocketpair said the plaintiffs sought an injunction and 5 million yen plus late-payment damages for each plaintiff. Those are Pocketpair’s descriptions of the claims, not damages awarded by a court or findings that infringement occurred.
Application No. 2026-019762 was a pending divisional application, not one of those three granted patents as identified by Pocketpair. Refusing to grant that additional application is different from invalidating or cancelling a patent that has already been granted. It also does not, by itself, resolve whether any asserted patent is valid or infringed. A patent attorney’s overview notes that examination decisions do not bind the Tokyo District Court’s decision in the infringement case.
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What was known about the next court dates as of October 8, 2026
A Japanese patent attorney’s overview, based on public information available July 8, 2026, reported that an evidence hearing was scheduled for October 1, 2026, and that the court was expected to indicate its view on November 9. The overview also said the plaintiffs had narrowed their requested relief to older versions of Palworld in November 2025.
The October 1 hearing is now in the past, but the available account does not establish whether it took place or what happened there. The November 9 date remained a future expected court indication in that overview. Neither date should be treated as a confirmed outcome of the case without a later court record or reliable report.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallSeparately, AUTOMATON WEST reported that Nintendo could petition the JPO Commissioner for a trial against the rejection of No. 2026-019762 within three months. That was a reported procedural option and deadline; whether Nintendo filed such a petition is not established here.
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