Nintendo makes desperate 'Hail Mary' move to beat Palworld in court

Nintendo is suing Pocketpair, the creator of Palworld for allegedly infringing on its Pokémon patents, but its latest moves indicate that Pocketpair may have a stronger defense case than Nintendo initially anticipated.

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For those who are out of the loop, the release of Palworld in 2024 was a major success, with the title hitting an all-time peak of 2.1 million players on Steam shortly after its release. Palworld still remains an extremely popular game, with it still regularly sitting in the top 25 games on Valve's platform, and with attention came Nintendo lawyers, who claimed Palworld was infringing on the company's patents.

Nintendo officially sued Palworld's creator Pocketpair, and according to the suit, Nintendo is seeking approximately $66,000 in damages for Pocketpair allegedly infringing on three patents: one for how players can switch between riding different mounts, and two for capturing monsters. Pocketpair responded to Nintendo's claims and pointed to other games that use similar in-game mechanics, which Nintendo hasn't filed lawsuits against. Additionally, Pocketpair demonstrated its mount switching mechanic 6 months before Nintendo filed the patent it alleges Pocketpair is infringing upon.

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Gamesfray has recently penned a new report that states Nintendo recently visited the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and requested to change the description within the patent about switching rides mid-air. Why is this a big deal? The report states it's extremely unusual for a company embroiled in a patent suit to request an update to the patent to better fit what they are alleging, as that typically makes the original patent look weak.

The updated patent also included broader language such as "even when," which according to Florian Mueller, the Founder & Publisher of Games Fray and patent-specialized IP Fray, "I've been following patent litigation for 15 years (for the better part of that period as a consultant) and have seen many claims that were amended, but I've never seen "even when" or "even if" in a patent claim. It's bizarre."

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Broad or vague language such as this typically isn't used in legal claims because clarity, precision, and specificity are essential to ensuring fairness, enforceability, and a proper legal process. Vague language can lead to misinterpretation, which can then be subjected to appeal or dismissal on the ground that the claim isn't specific enough. In a nutshell, the law demands specificity for a multitude of reasons.

As for changing the patent halfway through a case, Gamesfray describes the decision by Nintendo to be a "Hail Mary" move that smells of a "desperate attempt to win by doing something odd". Nintendo is also trying to sue Pocketpair in the United States, and is currently trying to build a case against the company here by being awarded four patents, so far. However, Palworld is continuously being updated by Pocketpair, making nailing down any specific copyright infringement difficult for Nintendo.

An example of Palworld being a moving target is Pocketpair removing Pal gliding mechanics, and the ability to throw Pal Spheres to summon captured Pals. These spheres were seemingly too close to Nintendo's Poke Balls that summon Pokémon.