Nintendo and The Pokémon Company did not invent monster capturing mechanics in video games, the Japan Patent Office ruled. As reported by Gamesfray, the JPO has rejected the application for a patent related to such mechanics by Nintendo, arguing that other games – including ARK, Craftopia, and Pokémon GO – used similar techniques predating Nintendo’s patent application.
Nintendo can still modify the application and try again, but at the moment the company is unable to claim that other monster-capturing games are violating its intellectual property rights when it comes to this specific aspect of their gameplay.
As Gamesfray stated, this decision does not have a direct impact on the ongoing legal battle with Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, which Nintendo sued for patent infringement. The decision might have a less direct influence on the lawsuit, however, since the rejection of this patent might bring into question the validity of the related patents involved in that debate.
It’s certainly a new arrow in Pocketpair’s legal quiver as this battle drags on, even if not a decisive one.