At the beginning of the year Palword was released, a game that many have been waiting for. An aggressive marketing campaign presenting it above all as a “Pokémon but first firearms”, enough to suggest a proven plagiarism. When it was released, the game was a real hit, breaking all records on Steam. And when discovering this Palworld, players struggled to find a real plagiarism as the game mechanics were so far removed from those of Pokémon. However, the legal teams of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company moved on to the attack and sue the small Pocketpair team.
The Pokémon Company and Nintendo are suing Palworld
Sceptics expected it, but Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have finally filed a lawsuit against Palworld. While The Pokémon Company had announced in late January, about a week after the game's release, that the company had “intends to investigate and take appropriate action to remedy any act that infringes on intellectual property rights related to Pokémon“, it is on another level that the firm places its pawns. According to a joint complaint by Nintendo and The Pokémon Company against Pocketpair, Palworld allegedly violated “several patent rights”.
It was directly on Nintendo's official website that the publisher announced that it had filed a complaint with the Tokyo District Court. The two Japanese giants are seeking “compensation for damages” that Palworld allegedly caused following the illegal use of several patents. For Nintendo, this action is primarily aimed at protecting both its brand and its intellectual property.
“Nintendo Co., Ltd. and The Pokémon Company filed a patent infringement complaint with the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. on September 18, 2024,” Nintendo's website reads. “This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and published by the defendant, infringes several patent rights. Nintendo will continue to take necessary measures against any infringement of its intellectual property rights, including the Nintendo brand itself, in order to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to develop. established over the years.“
While Pocketpair announced a few days ago that it was thinking about the future of Palworld, this legal attack may well force the studio to review its plans, and especially its expenses. Fortunately, the game's commercial success has allowed them to greatly replenish the studio's coffers, hoping that a good nest egg is still available for this kind of emergency. Although Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have not directly mentioned the patents concerned, some Internet users believe that it could be the capture system, too close to that of Pokémon.
Several Pals designs can also be cited as too similar to those of Pokémon. The Pokémon Company and Nintendo intend to argue their arguments in court, it remains to be seen whether an amicable resolution can be found between the two parties.