Soon After the release of Palworld, The Pokémon Company issued an official statement saying it has “not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game”, adding that it “intend to investigate and take appropriate measures”. Eight months after that statement, The Pokemon Company is suing Pocketpair Inc., the makers of Palworld.
The Pokémon Company announced today that it has filed for infringement of patent rights against Pocketpair, Inc. claiming Palworld infringed on multiple patent rights. It is also asking the court to compel the Palworld maker to pay for the damages.
“The Pokémon Company, together with Nintendo Co., Ltd., filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. (Office: 2-10-2 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, “Defendant” hereafter) on September 18, 2024,” The Pokémon Company announced on its corporate website.
“This lawsuit seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the Defendant, infringes multiple patent rights.
“The Pokémon Company will continue to take appropriate actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights.”
Nintendo is famous for being a litigious company. This year, the Japanese game developer and publisher has shut down multiple projects based on copyright infringement, including Yuzu Emulator maker, Tropic Haze.
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Although Palworld’s gameplay is clearly different from Nintendo’s Pokémon, there has been controversy around how the former’s character models are closely related to the latter. For Nintendo to have a successful case, they need to prove that Pocketpair used Pokémon’s game assets as opposed to taking inspiration from the game.
Maybe they're brothers? #Palworld #Pokemon #Lycanroc model from SV. pic.twitter.com/KnGSozfJGQ
— byo (@byofrog) January 21, 2024
Hoeg Law attorney Richard Hoeg said at that time, “Certainly evidence of actual assets being stolen is the kind of thing that is likely to make a more successful case. Simply being ‘inspired by’ existing designs, even if that goes so far as to use certain design rules (proportions, coloration, curve usage, eye size, etc) is generally not.”
Following the controversy after the release of Palworld, Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe granted an interview to the Japanese website Automaton where he claimed that his company’s legal review cleared Palworld, adding that no legal action has been brought against the game by any company.
The Pokemon Company has won an intellectual property infringement lawsuit against Pocket Monster Remake game
Just a few days ago, The Pokémon Company announced that the court has ruled in its favor in another suit of intellectual property infringement it filed against Pocket Monster: Remake. Although the lawsuit was filed on December 3, 2021, the verdict was delivered on July 12, 2024.
“The court ordered Guangzhou Maichi Network Technology Co., Ltd. to pay damages in the amount of 107 million Chinese yuan (approx. 2.34 billion Japanese yen, based on Telegraphic Transfer Middle Rate of 1 CNY = 21.89 JPY in effect on July 12, 2024), with partial joint liability to be borne by Shenzhen Asikade Information Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Zhishanghudong Technology Co., Ltd., and Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology Co., Ltd,” the Pokemon Company said.
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Two companies involved in that lawsuit, Guangzhou Maichi Network Technology Co., Ltd. and Khorgos Fangchi Network Technology Co., Ltd. have filed appeals against the court’s ruling. It is unlikely that the verdict will change considering how Nintendo lawyers always frame and meticulously prove their point in intellectual property infringement cases.
“Going forward, The Pokémon Company will continue to take all necessary steps to protect its intellectual properties, to enable its users worldwide to enjoy all Pokémon contents with complete peace of mind.”
Perhaps, this verdict in their favor inspired Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to go after Palworld—which is seemingly related to this case it won in July.
Do you think The Pokémon Company has enough evidence to pin down Pocketpair into paying damages? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.
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