US EditionNintendo's Patent on Summoning Fighting NPCs Is Being Reexamined
- On November 3, USPTO Director John A. Squires ordered reexamination of Patent No. '397, giving the office two months to investigate its legitimacy.
- Squires cited overlooked prior art and earlier patents, saying his office failed to consider Konami and Nintendo's 2002 and 2019 patents, prompting substantial new questions of patentability.
- The '397 patent describes a summoned sub character switching modes and claims controlling a player character to cause a sub character to appear, switching between manual and automatic battle modes.
- Analysts say the move weakens Nintendo's case as the reexamination undermines Nintendo's patent assertions in its lawsuit against Pocketpair's Palworld, while Pocketpair continues Palworld development.
- It is uncommon for a USPTO director to intervene directly; John A. Squires, USPTO Director , ordered the reexamination with decisions expected next year.
22 Articles
22 Articles
Nintendo’s Pokémon Patent Under Investigation by U.S. Government
The head of the U.S. Patent Office has issued an order to re-examine Nintendo’s controversial Pokémon patent. According to the government official, Nintendo’s combat summoning patent may not have been valid after all. Nintendo’s Pokémon Summoning Patent Under Review Screenshot: The Pokémon Company Back in September, the gaming industry was stunned when Nintendo was granted a patent by the U.S. government for “summoning a character in battle.” Th…
Japan Patent Office Rejects Key Patent Application In Nintendo’s ‘Palworld’ Lawsuit
Nintendo and the Pokémon Company’s lawsuit in Japan against PocketPair, makers of the hit game Palworld, is still ongoing. As we’ve reported previously, this isn’t the copyright or trademark lawsuit that everyone expected when Palworld was first released. Instead, probably knowing that they couldn’t get around the idea/expression dichotomy in copyright, at least, Nintendo filed a patent suit instead. The patents referenced covered several differ…
channelnews : Key Development In Nintendo’s Palworld Lawsuit As Switch 2 Earnings Soar
Nintendo and the Pokémon Company’s ongoing legal campaign against Palworld developer, Pocketpair has hit another roadblock. Just weeks after Japan dismissed Nintendo’s attempt to patent several Pokémon-style monster-catching and throwing mechanics, the United States has taken the unusual step of re-examining an already granted Pokémon patent over concerns it may be invalid. In September, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) awar…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
