Nintendo’s Ongoing Pokémon Patent Lawsuit Takes Another Hit

Japan’s Patent Office rejected Nintendo’s application for touchscreen capture-and-release gameplay, citing a lack of inventive step.

Nintendo can revise and resubmit the claim, but the ruling is another setback in its patent strategy.

The decision comes amid Nintendo’s ongoing lawsuit against Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld.

It may weaken Nintendo’s broader effort to use patents against monster-catching game mechanics and similar mobile titles.