Nintendo has taken legal action against Pocketpair, the creators of Palworld, for allegedly violating their patents.
In a press release, it was revealed that both Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed the lawsuit in Tokyo District Court on September 18. They stated, “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 emphasized, “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.”
Earlier this year in January, Nintendo announced they would look into Palworld and take action if they found any IP violations related to Pokemon. Yet, by June, Pocketpair reported they had not received any complaints or legal threats from Nintendo.
But now, the situation has changed with the new lawsuit. Palworld has been a huge hit, selling 12 million copies on Steam. Pocketpair aims to keep growing Palworld by teaming up with Sony Music Entertainment and considering microtransactions.
Sometimes we wonder if big companies will always go after smaller ones.
Despite the lawsuit, Palworld’s success is undeniable, and Pocketpair is pushing forward with big plans.
