Danica Davidson
September 19, 2024 
The game Palworld quickly became a bestseller after its release, but there was also talk among fans that it seemed especially close to Pokémon. Some people even gave it the nickname “Pokémon with guns.” In January, Nintendo put out an official statement on the matter, saying, “We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon.”
It’s September now, and apparently Pokémon has investigated and decided that Palworld was too similar. Yesterday, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company officially filed a lawsuit at the Tokyo District Court.
What Nintendo Said
“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,” Nintendo declared in an official online statement. “Nintendo will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property rights including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over the years.”
What Pocketpair Said
“Pocketpair, the company that made Palworld, also put out its own statement about the lawsuit. “We have received notice of this lawsuit and will begin the appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims of patent infringement,” the statement declared. “At this moment, we are unaware of the specific patents we are accused of infringing upon, and we have not been notified of such details.”
Describing itself as an indie game company from Tokyo, Pocketpair says its goal is to create fun games. It continued, “It is truly unfortunate that we will be forced to allocate significant time to matters unrelated to game development due to this lawsuit. However, we will do our utmost for our fans, and to ensure that indie game developers are not hindered or discouraged from pursuing their creative ideas. We apologize to our fans and supporters for any worry or discomfort that this news has caused.”
Now we’ll have to wait and see what happens at Court.
Source: NBC, Nintendo, Pocketpair
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
