Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pockepair for “infringement and compensation for damages” from Palworld. The announcement comes eight months after The Pokémon Company released a statement concerning plans to investigate Palworld.
Nintendo did not elaborate on what patent rights were infringed by Pocketpair and Palworld. However, the company notes it will continue to take necessary actions to protect its intellectual properties and brand.
The full notice may be read below from Nintendo:
Filing Lawsuit for Infringement of Patent Rights
against Pocketpair, Inc.
Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Minami-ku, Japan; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, “Nintendo” hereafter), together with The Pokémon Company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. (HQ: 2-10-2 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, “Defendant” hereafter) on September 18, 2024.
This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights.
Nintendo will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years.
On July 9, Sony Music Entertainment Japan, Aniplex, and Pocketpair announced the establishment of Palworld Entertainment, a joint venture that will expand and develop new businesses associated with the Palworld game. Palworld Entertainment will be in charge of global licensing, merchandising, commercial business, and the reach of the intellectual property outside of the game.
Palworld is currently available now for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Windows and Steam. The game sold over eight million copies on Steam alone within six days. Lastly, it was the fastest-selling game of January 2024 on Steam.
