According to IGN, U.S. Patent Office Director John A. Squires personally ordered a reexamination of Nintendo’s controversial “summon character and let it fight” patent (No. 12,403,397) after determining “substantial new questions of patentability have arisen.” The decision comes just weeks after Squires took office in September 2024 and follows intense criticism from IP lawyers who called the patent’s approval questionable. Squires specifically cited two prior art references – a 2002 Konami patent and Nintendo’s own 2019 filing – as potentially invalidating the claims. Nintendo now has two months to respond to what IP expert Florian Mueller calls a “highly likely” path toward patent revocation. This represents the second major patent setback for Nintendo after Japan’s patent office rejected another monster capture patent last month for lacking originality.
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<h2 id="patent-problems”>Why This Patent Was Always Questionable
Here’s the thing about this “summon character and let it fight” patent – it basically describes gameplay mechanics that have existed for decades. We’re talking about summoning creatures to battle, which appears in everything from Persona to Digimon to even Elden Ring depending on how broadly you interpret it. IP lawyer Kirk Sigmon told PC Gamer these claims were “in no way allowable” from the start. And now the USPTO director is essentially admitting the office screwed up by approving it without proper scrutiny. The fact that Nintendo‘s own 2019 patent is being used against them? That’s just embarrassing.
What This Means for the Palworld Lawsuit
This reexamination absolutely torpedoes Nintendo’s credibility in its lawsuit against Pocketpair. Mueller put it bluntly – this “further undermines the credibility” of Nintendo’s patent assertions. And he’s right. When your key patents start getting rejected left and right, your legal position looks increasingly desperate. Pocketpair has already been making changes to Palworld’s mechanics since the lawsuit began – removing the Pokéball-like throwing animation in November 2024, changing how gliding works in May 2024. They’re clearly trying to navigate around Nintendo’s claims, but if the patents themselves get invalidated, what’s left of Nintendo’s case?
Nintendo’s Risky Legal Gambit
Look, Nintendo’s strategy here is becoming painfully clear. They filed these divisional patents in 2024 specifically after Palworld’s success, derived from earlier 2021 patents. They’re essentially weaponizing the patent system against a competitor after the fact. But the system is pushing back hard – first in Japan, now in the U.S. Even Judge Motoyuki Nakashima at the Tokyo District Court is reportedly leaning toward ruling against Nintendo. When you’re rewriting patents mid-lawsuit and arguing that mods shouldn’t count as prior art? You’re grasping at straws.
The Broader Implications
This case isn’t just about Pokémon versus Palworld anymore. It’s becoming a referendum on what should actually be patentable in video games. As Games Fray reported, the public outrage over this patent award threatened the reputation of the entire U.S. patent system. When basic gameplay mechanics like “summon creature and fight” become patentable, where does it end? Every game with companions or summons could theoretically face legal challenges. That’s a terrifying prospect for an industry built on iterating and improving existing ideas.
What Happens Now
Realistically? We probably won’t see major developments until 2025. Nintendo has those two months to respond to the reexamination, and the Tokyo court case will take time. But Mueller’s prediction that Nintendo will “likely lose” seems increasingly plausible. Pocketpair’s communications director John Buckley said the lawsuit “came as a shock” to the studio – and honestly, it probably should have. When you’re going after a game for mechanics that half the industry uses, you’re playing with fire. And right now, Nintendo’s getting burned.
