TheRetroArcade
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Joined: Feb 2026
Nintendo has plenty of space to respond, however.
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Amidst its ongoing Japanese patent lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair, Nintendo thoroughly stirred the legal pot on this side of the Pacific when news broke in September 2025 that the United States Patent and Trademark Office had granted the publisher US patent 12,403,397—a patent describing a system for battling summoned characters.
Despite concerns about how such patents could be weaponized, the USPTO approved the '397 patent with shockingly little pushback, drawing outcry from both players and legal experts—experts like videogame patent lawyer Kirk Sigmon, who called the patent's approval "an embarrassing failure of the US patent system." The USPTO now seems to agree, as it issued a nonfinal decision last week rejecting all of the '397 patent's claims, effectively declaring its intent to revoke the patent (via GamesFray). Nintendo will, however, be able to argue against the decision.
Before I continue, we should clarify the scope of Nintendo's '397 patent, which has been a common source of confusion. To be clear: Nintendo did not apply for and does not possess a patent on the general concept of battling summoned monsters. Patents are intended to protect original, unique inventions that would be non-obvious for practitioners of the associated art. In other words, an invention isn't patentable if it's overly broad or similar to existing works.
Even Nintendo's terrifying legal apparatus can't obtain a patent on an idea as broad as battling summoned characters. The concept of commanding creatures to fight would have been as unpatentable when Pokémon first released in 1996 as it is today, because patents don't protect concepts themselves. They protect clearly defined processes, designs, and applications. To meet that criteria, videogame patents like Nintendo's '397 patent are—by necessity—limited in scope to extremely specific mechanical implementations.
In Nintendo's case, its '397 patent claims the invention of a unique, hyperspecific system of sub-character battling mechanics: one in which a movable player character can be directed with an input to summon a sub-character at a designated locatio...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
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Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
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Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Amidst its ongoing Japanese patent lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair, Nintendo thoroughly stirred the legal pot on this side of the Pacific when news broke in September 2025 that the United States Patent and Trademark Office had granted the publisher US patent 12,403,397—a patent describing a system for battling summoned characters.
Despite concerns about how such patents could be weaponized, the USPTO approved the '397 patent with shockingly little pushback, drawing outcry from both players and legal experts—experts like videogame patent lawyer Kirk Sigmon, who called the patent's approval "an embarrassing failure of the US patent system." The USPTO now seems to agree, as it issued a nonfinal decision last week rejecting all of the '397 patent's claims, effectively declaring its intent to revoke the patent (via GamesFray). Nintendo will, however, be able to argue against the decision.
Before I continue, we should clarify the scope of Nintendo's '397 patent, which has been a common source of confusion. To be clear: Nintendo did not apply for and does not possess a patent on the general concept of battling summoned monsters. Patents are intended to protect original, unique inventions that would be non-obvious for practitioners of the associated art. In other words, an invention isn't patentable if it's overly broad or similar to existing works.
Even Nintendo's terrifying legal apparatus can't obtain a patent on an idea as broad as battling summoned characters. The concept of commanding creatures to fight would have been as unpatentable when Pokémon first released in 1996 as it is today, because patents don't protect concepts themselves. They protect clearly defined processes, designs, and applications. To meet that criteria, videogame patents like Nintendo's '397 patent are—by necessity—limited in scope to extremely specific mechanical implementations.
In Nintendo's case, its '397 patent claims the invention of a unique, hyperspecific system of sub-character battling mechanics: one in which a movable player character can be directed with an input to summon a sub-character at a designated locatio...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?