The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has revoked a patent it granted to Nintendo last year, which involved summoning creatures to battle. In fact, they rejected all 26 claims of the patent. Note, however, that this is not a final decision: Nintendo has two months to respond, or longer if they request an extension.
This patent, deemed very broad, covered a system where sub-characters could fight automatically or under the player’s control—an idea already widely used in many games.
The decision follows a rare re-examination requested directly by the USPTO director, who determined that prior patents (notably from Konami) called into question the invention’s originality. This challenge highlights that the patent may never have been granted in the first place, with some experts already criticizing a lack of thorough examination during its initial approval.
The case is particularly significant because this patent was linked to Nintendo’s legal actions against certain recent games accused of copying its mechanics. Of course, we’re obviously referring to Palworld. Its revocation or weakening could therefore undermine the company’s legal position in these disputes. This decision is seen as a strong signal to the industry, serving as a reminder that overly generic gameplay mechanics cannot be protected so easily by patents.
