Japan rejects Nintendo's 'monster capture' patent after a third-party submits damning evidence

Nintendo's application to trademark 'monster capture' has been rejected after a third party provided evidence that the mechanic existed years earlier.

Japan rejects Nintendo's 'monster capture' patent after a third-party submits damning evidence
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Tech and Science Editor
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TL;DR: Nintendo's attempt to trademark monster capture mechanics was rejected by Japan's Patent Office due to lack of originality, citing prior games like Monster Hunter and Pokémon GO. This rare legal setback challenges Nintendo's aggressive IP protection strategy amid its dispute with Palworld developer Pocketpair.

Nintendo is known for having one of, if not the most active, legal teams in the gaming industry, with the company not being afraid whatsoever to try and shut down any form of creative endeavor that it may impact the sales or misrepresent its products.

Japan rejects Nintendo's 'monster capture' patent after a third-party submits damning evidence 442
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An example of Nintendo's willingness to go above and beyond to protect its products is the rampant trademarking it has been filing to prevent other game developers, or anyone else for that matter, from replicating certain aspects of its games. One example is the capturing of monsters, for which Nintendo attempted to file a trademark with Japan's Patent Office, which, if accepted, would give Nintendo the legal right to file lawsuits against any other game developer that used a similar mechanic.

However, Nintendo has experienced a rare occurrence as it has been told "no" by the Japanese patent authority, as the application, 2024-031879, was rejected over its lack of originality. Japan's Patent Office cited games that already existed before Nintendo filed the patent in December 2021, such as ARK: Survival Evolved, Monster Hunter 4, Craftopia, and even Pokémon GO.

The patent is part of an ongoing battle between Nintendo and Palworld developer Pocketpair, which is a Pokémon-inspired PC title that gained immense popularity. Nintendo alleges the game encroaches on its intellectual property and is currently scrambling to file as many patents as it possibly can to gain a legal standing that it can then leverage against Pocketpair.

Notably, the Patent Office's decision came after a third-party submitted evidence that showed the monster capture mechanics were already in games years prior. It's very possible that the third party was Pocketpair.