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Or is it just one of Phil's balls in my throat?
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Nintendo applying for anti-Palworld patents in the US "they are fighting"
Nintendo vs Pocketpair could come to US soil
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While most are aware of the ongoing patent infringement lawsuit Nintendo have bought against Pocketpair, creators of Palworld—until now that case is only raging on Japanese soil.
Recently, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company have taken steps that suggest they might be preparing for a similar battle in the US. They are going to have a much harder time of it though, with GamesFray reporting that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) overwhelmingly rejected 22 out of 23 of Nintendo's patent claims.
There is no case yet, however Nintendo appear to be trying to build an arsenal of patents behind them and if successful may later start litigation in a similar manner to what they are doing in Japan.
One patent that has been successfully given to Nintendo is U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111 which covers the process of aiming and capturing characters. This was filed for after Palworld's launch but in the world of patent filing, is totally above board if it can related to an earlier 'patent family.'
In December, prior to Palworld's huge Feybreak DLC, the game was updated to amend these capture mechanics possibly in direct response to this patent infringement suit.