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Pocketpair identified three Japanese patents at the center of the Palworld lawsuit: Nos. 7,545,191, 7,493,117 and 7,528,390. The developer said Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are seeking an injunction against Palworld and ¥5 million plus late-payment damages from Pocketpair for each plaintiff. The case is about alleged patent infringement, not a publicly announced copyright claim over Palworld’s creature designs.
What Pocketpair disclosed
In a statement dated November 8, 2024, Palworld developer and publisher Pocketpair named three Japanese patents it said were at issue. It also disclosed the plaintiffs’ requested remedies and said it intended to contest the case. The statement did not provide a full legal analysis of the asserted patent claims.
| Japanese patent | Application date reported by Pocketpair | Registration date reported by Pocketpair |
|---|---|---|
| 7,545,191 | July 30, 2024 | August 27, 2024 |
| 7,493,117 | February 26, 2024 | May 22, 2024 |
| 7,528,390 | March 5, 2024 | July 26, 2024 |
These are the dates Pocketpair reported for the identified Japanese applications and registrations. They should not be read as proof of when an underlying invention was first conceived or first filed in a patent family. Pocketpair’s statement is the source for the patent numbers and dates.
Who sued whom, and when?
Nintendo Co., Ltd. and The Pokémon Company sued Pocketpair, Inc. in the Tokyo District Court. Nintendo said the complaint was filed on September 18, 2024, and announced publicly the following day. Its announcement described an action over multiple patent rights, seeking an injunction and damages; it did not identify the individual patents. Pocketpair later supplied those numbers. Nintendo’s announcement confirms the plaintiffs, defendant, court and filing date.
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The announced legal basis matters: this is a patent-infringement case, not a publicly announced copyright lawsuit alleging that Palworld copied Pokémon character designs. Creature resemblance has been part of public debate, but the disclosed claims concern patent rights. Saying the case is simply about Palworld “looking like Pokémon” misstates the stated legal action.
What gameplay concepts have been associated with the patents?
News coverage has associated the patents with gameplay concepts such as throwing an item to capture a creature or character, summoning or switching a character in the game world, and riding captured creatures for movement. These are broad descriptions of reported gameplay areas, not a finding that Palworld infringes any patent. Nintendo Life, Game Developer and Automaton summarize the reported subject matter.
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A patent title or general mechanic description cannot settle infringement. The legal comparison depends on the wording of the patent claims and whether Palworld’s implementation contains each element those claims require. Patent validity is a separate question from infringement: a defendant may argue both that a game does not infringe and that the patent should not have been granted.
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Why the patent dates drew scrutiny
Pocketpair says Palworld entered early access on January 19, 2024; the three Japanese application dates it disclosed fall between February and July of that year. The timing prompted questions about whether the patents were created after Palworld launched, but the reported application and registration dates alone do not establish that conclusion.
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- Application date: the date the identified Japanese application was filed, as reported by Pocketpair.
- Registration date: the date the patent was granted or registered in Japan, as reported by Pocketpair.
- Priority date: a potentially earlier date claimed through a related application in a patent family; it can be relevant to legal analysis.
- Palworld release date: January 19, 2024.
Patent commentary has noted that some 2024 registrations may be connected to earlier applications through continuation, divisional or amended filings. The relevant family and prosecution records would need to be examined before drawing a firm conclusion about when the claimed inventions originated. Siliconera’s coverage discusses that date context. A later registration date does not by itself prove a patent was invented after a game’s release, just as an earlier priority claim would not by itself prove infringement.
What the plaintiffs are asking the court to do
Pocketpair says Nintendo and The Pokémon Company requested an injunction against Palworld, along with ¥5 million plus late-payment damages payable to The Pokémon Company and ¥5 million plus late-payment damages payable to Nintendo. Pocketpair described the damages claims as covering a portion of damages incurred between patent registration and the lawsuit’s filing. The stated amounts are therefore not necessarily the full financial exposure: an injunction could have broader consequences for the game’s availability or operation.
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What changed for Palworld players
Pocketpair’s May 8, 2025 update connected two gameplay changes to compromises made during the ongoing litigation. That is Pocketpair’s explanation; the statement does not say a court ordered the changes.
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Patch v0.3.11, released November 30, 2024, removed the ability to summon Pals by throwing Pal Spheres. Pals instead appeared statically beside the player.
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Gliding
With Patch v0.5.5, players had to use a glider rather than a Pal to glide. Pals could still provide passive gliding buffs, but a glider had to be in the player’s inventory.
Pocketpair’s May 2025 statement describes both changes and its account of why they were made.
Pocketpair’s position and the case status
Pocketpair says it disputes the infringement allegations and is asserting that the patents are invalid. That is the defendant’s position, not a court finding. Earlier games may be relevant to arguments about patent validity, but prior art does not automatically defeat a patent; the result depends on the precise claims, the relevant disclosures and dates, and the legal analysis.
In its May 8, 2025 update, Pocketpair described the litigation as ongoing. Its official important-notice archive lists that update and the November 2024 patent disclosure; no later lawsuit-resolution notice appears in the archive reviewed through August 18, 2026. Those official notices do not establish a final judgment or settlement, so they do not support claims that Nintendo won, Pocketpair lost, the case was dismissed, or Palworld is being taken down.
The public disclosures also do not resolve the precise claim-by-claim infringement analysis or the court’s eventual findings. The three patent numbers identify the rights Pocketpair named, but the numbers alone do not prove that Palworld infringes them.
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