Nintendo’s Actions in Lawsuit Against Pocketpair in Japan Are “Weird” – IP Expert

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As a gamer, it seems like my favorite game, Palworld, is still embroiled in legal troubles with Nintendo, as changes made by developer Pocketpair suggest. From what I’ve gathered from the insights of intellectual property expert Florian Mueller, shared by GamesRadar, Nintendo appears to be making some rather peculiar moves in its lawsuit against Pocketpair – it feels like this case might not be wrapped up just yet.

It’s worth mentioning that Pocketpair has maintained a robust defense against Nintendo’s allegations. The owner of the Pokemon IP, in response, made amendments to three patents on which they were litigating with the developer of Palworld. Mueller pointed out that typically, parties involved in a lawsuit do not alter their patents during the course of the lawsuit, especially if they believe the patent is strong and unlikely to be found invalid in its current form. This action suggests that Pocketpair might have concerns about the validity of these patents.

Occasionally, parties may navigate around this issue by modifying their patents during the lawsuit, while still winning under the original patent terms. However, Mueller has expressed that “Nintendo’s phrasing of these new claims is, to be frank, unusual and seems unlikely to resolve the issues at hand in this dispute.

In his own words, Mueller pointed out that the language used in the patent is intentionally convoluted, making it seem more complex than necessary. His suspicion is that this was deliberately done to confuse or obscure the true nature of the invention. Here’s a snippet from the patent as highlighted by Mueller:

[Patent text]

Mueller suggests that the patent’s wording appears overly complicated and may be an attempt to hide or obfuscate its true intent.

…”When a character other than the one designed for aerial movement is selected on the board, and if the player is already in mid-air when an operation command is given, the game will make the aerial character appear, causing the player to board this aerial character instead of the previously chosen ground-based character.

According to Mueller, it’s worth noting that the term “even when” isn’t typically used in patent claims. He considers this term too forceful and subjective because the word “even” doesn’t belong in patent claims.

Mueller stated, “For approximately the past 15 years, I’ve been involved with patent litigation (a significant portion of that time as a consultant). Throughout this period, I’ve encountered numerous amended claims, but what strikes me as peculiar is that I’ve never found ‘even if’ or ‘even when’ in a patent claim. It seems unusual.

In essence, Mueller implies that Nintendo’s actions in Japan regarding their ongoing lawsuit against Pocketpair are akin to a last-ditch attempt or “Hail Mary” pass. He explains this as a desperate move taken by the company to prevail in the legal battle. Although Nintendo may be at a disadvantage in Japan with respect to the lawsuit, its patent strategies in the United States appear less unusual.

According to Mueller, the company’s patent applications in the U.S. appear to be written in a clearer and more logical manner compared to before, as they are chosen based on the selection process itself.

While we wait, let’s delve into the specifics of the Terraria-inspired Tides update that Palworld received recently. You can find this game on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S platforms.

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2025-07-18 19:12