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Pocketpair
Palworld's developer Pocketpair has published an update to Nintendo's lawsuit case, stating that it and The Pokémon Company want 5 million yen (about $33,000) plus late payment damages each for patent infringement.
The interesting detail in this mess is that the patents in question were filed after Palworld was released.
"The Plaintiffs claim that 'Palworld,' released by us on January 19, 2024, infringes upon the following three patents held by the Plaintiffs, and are seeking an injunction against the game and compensation for a portion of the damages incurred between the date of registration of the patents and the date of filing of this lawsuit."
Here are the patents:
- Patent No. 7545191 (application date: July 30, 2024; registration date: August 27, 2024)
- Patent No. 7493117 (application date: February 26, 2024; registration date: May 22, 2024)
- Patent No. 7528390 (application date: March 5, 2024; registration date: July 26, 2024)
From what I've seen, they describe Pokémon Rides and throwing and catching Poké Balls. So yes, it seems like Nintendo couldn't find the grounds to sue Pocketpair for obvious art style inspiration, so it created new patents to tie to the case.
Pocketpair promises to "continue to assert our position in this case through future legal proceedings."
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