Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have faced another setback in their legal efforts to protect the unique ways Pokémon games are played. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently cancelled a patent they were granted for gameplay features involving summoning allies to help in battle. The patent, originally filed in 2023 and approved in September 2025, was reviewed again at the USPTO’s request in November 2025, ultimately leading to its revocation.
The patent hasn’t been completely cancelled yet, and Nintendo has a chance to appeal the decision. According to Florian Mueller from Game Fray, Nintendo has two months to respond to the initial ruling, and can even request more time if needed.
According to Mueller, the patent office didn’t need to play any games to determine the invention was obvious. However, the process has become a little more complex because the patent office didn’t review other similar games.
He explained that the technology relies on combining elements from previously published US patent applications. Nintendo filed two of those earlier patents, while Konami and Bandai Namco each filed one.
If Nintendo wins on at least 18 out of 26 patent claims, they could sue other companies. Their argument would be that combining existing game development knowledge wouldn’t naturally lead someone to create the technology in question.
Nintendo has two months to figure out what to do with a patent that isn’t fully approved. They could revise the patent to be more specific, or they could drop the application entirely. This isn’t the first time Nintendo has dealt with this – they faced a similar situation with a patent in Japan before.
So, back in November, the USPTO director, John A. Squires, started a fresh look at this patent – US 12,403,397. Basically, he found some older patents that showed similar ideas – like having a companion character fight with you in a game – and decided those raised some serious questions about whether the patent should have been granted in the first place. It’s like, ‘Hey, this isn’t totally new after all!’
Nintendo filed these patents as part of its ongoing legal efforts against Pocketpair’s game, Palworld. While the two companies have been in court in Japan for a while, Nintendo’s filings with the US Patent and Trademark Office suggest it aims to limit Palworld’s success more broadly.
In October 2025, Japan’s Patent Office (JPO) rejected another Nintendo patent related to its legal battle with Pocketpair. The JPO determined that the patent’s described “monster capture” features were already present in other games, including the ARK series, Monster Hunter 4, and Pocketpair’s own game, Craftopia.
Mueller pointed out that the JPO’s decision, even if not the final word, wouldn’t directly affect Nintendo’s lawsuit against Pocketpair, which is being handled by Judge Nakashima. It simply put the lawsuit on hold. Nintendo then had two choices: give up on the patent application or revise it and try again.
Read More
- Gold Rate Forecast
- Dune 3 Gets the Huge Update Fans Have Been Waiting For
- Guardians of the Globe Members We Want to See in Invincible Season 4
- Kelly Osbourne Slams “Disgusting” Comments on Her Appearance
- Eurogamer Gives ARC Raiders 2/5 Over AI Voices, Dropping Metacritic Score from 94 to 84
- Hideo Kojima Says He Was Never Told About The Matrix Creators Wanting Him to Make a Game
- One of Hulu’s Best New Shows Lands on Disney+ Ahead of Season 2
- ’90s Cartoon Reboot & TMNT Connection!
- What Song Is In The New Supergirl Trailer (& What It Means For The DC Movie)
- Disney Has Only Launched 10 New Franchises in the 21st Century
2026-04-02 14:41