One of Nintendo’s anti-Palworld monster-capture patent applications has been rejected by the Japanese Patent Office as it “lacked an inventive step”.
For those unaware, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have been battling PocketPair, the publisher of Palworld, in a patent infringement lawsuit for some time now. Most recently, we had heard a patent expert say that Nintendo is “so wrong it hurts” regarding mods not being counted as prior art. Now, prior art is the main reason why Nintendo’s patent application was rejected in Japan.
Nintendo’s Anti-Palworld Patent Rejected Due to Prior Art References Including ARK, Monster Hunter 4, and More
According to a report by GamesFray, Nintendo’s rejected patent application, 2024-031879, was a subclaim of one of the anti-Palworld monster-capture patents and a parent of another. It was dismissed for lack of an inventive step, meaning it did not involve an innovative idea that was not an obvious combination of two or more pre-existing concepts. Several games were cited as prior art references.
The patent office determined, through a third-party submission of prior art, that this step existed before Nintendo’s December 2021 priority date, with games such as Studio Wildcard’s ARK, Capcom’s Monster Hunter 4, Pocketpair’s Craftopia, Kantai Collection, and Pokémon GO using it. However, the refusal was non-final, meaning Nintendo can either abandon this patent or file a new patent application with amended claims.
If you are wondering what these claims are, read more about the previous anti-Palworld patents that Nintendo was acquiring, monster capture, and smooth switching between flying objects. What are your thoughts on Nintendo’s anti-Palworld patent being rejected in Japan? Let us know through the official Insider Gaming Discord.
For more information from Insider Gaming, read about the free PlayStation Plus monthly games for November 2025. Don’t forget to sign up for our weekly newsletter.
SUBSCRIBE to our newsletter to receive the latest news and exclusive leaks every week! No Spam.
