Readers already know that Palworld developer Pocketpair is gearing up for a legal fight against Nintendo over three alleged patent infringements and $66K, and while legal experts continue to argue ways in which both sides can win, a unique new argument in favor of Pocketpair has emerged.
The new insight comes from Ryo Arashida, a patent attorney from the Japan-based Patent Attorney Corporation Siarasia, who remarked to Nikkei Business Online Edition that Palworld may be able to successfully shoot down one of the patent arguments – the one about throwing a sphere-shaped object to capture a creature – because a mod made by a fan for Grand Theft Auto V featured a similar game mechanic back in 2016. This predates the original 2021 filing, which could be recognized as a precedent invention by the Japanese court.
This is almost certainly a long shot by any legal measure, but it is an interesting wrinkle to a case that might not be all cut-and-dried in spite of Nintendo’s sizeable legal grunt. And even despite the Japanese patent fight, Palworld’s debut on PlayStation 5 did big numbers in the region, debuting at the top spot for Japan and at #10 globally in the month of October.
