Nintendo is trying to secure a touchscreen patent from the same family mentioned in its ongoing patent lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair. Although the patent could potentially strengthen the company's case by extending its infringement claims to the upcoming mobile version of the PalworldNintendo has so far struggled to get it approved.
The ongoing litigation, filed in September 2024, concerns allegations by Nintendo and The Pokemon Company that Palworld infringes several of their jointly owned patents covering creature capture and mount-switching game systems. Pocketpair has already changed some Palworld mechanics in response to the lawsuit through a mid-2025 update for its popular open-world survival game. Nevertheless, the case remains active, and Nintendo has continued filing activity around patent families linked to the dispute.
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Nintendo is looking at another potential anti-Palworld patent
To continue this effort, Nintendo recently attempted to secure a touchscreen-focused patent (2026-019762) that covers a monster-capturing game system where players control movement through pointer input, deploy capture objects toward field characters in and out of battle, and then receive a success-or-failure capture determination. Patent analyst Florian Mueller said the application, if approved, could theoretically be useful against several current and upcoming games, including the Krafton-developed mobile version of Palworld and Tencent's Roco Kingdom: World. The latter has been making waves in China of late, surpassing 15 million day one players in March 2026, but has yet to debut internationally.
Regardless of its potential legal filings, Nintendo has so far failed to push patent 2026-019762 over the finish line. The Japanese Patent Office recently rejected its claims again after the company had already amended the application in February 2026. The renewed rejection appears to be more than a routine delay, with the examiner in charge of the case noting that the application lacks inventiveness, meaning it does not sufficiently distinguish itself from already known game concepts and previously public material. The filing's core elements—touchscreen controls, use of out-of-combat capture items, and pass-or-fail checks that determine whether a creature has been obtained—were all considered an obvious mash-up of established ideas rather than a new invention worthy of a patent.
Nintendo has the right to amend its application again in response to the second rejection. It is unclear if the company plans to do so. Another Nintendo patent from the same family was also rejected for lack of originality in late 2025, although the company eventually secured approval for a slimmer version in February 2026. A similar approach could be used in this case.
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If Nintendo would actually try to use this patent to strengthen its Palworld the lawsuit, assuming it manages to secure it, remains unclear but plausible. The company modified one of its anti-Palworld patent in July 2025 while the case was already pending, so trying to add more related rights during ongoing litigation would be consistent with its recent approach. Such actions are likely to further slow the court's consideration of the lawsuit, which is particularly notable given that there are currently no clear signs that Pocketpair and Nintendo are any closer to a settlement than they were a year ago.
- Released
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19 January 2024
- ESRB
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T For teenager due to violence
- Developer
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Pocket Pair, Inc.
- Publisher
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Pocket Pair, Inc.
