The Xbox and Game Pass hit Palworld is in the firing line of Nintendo and The Pokémon Company this week, with the Japanese companies filing a "patent infringement lawsuit" in Tokyo District Court against the creator Pocketpair.
Here is Nintendo's statement in full:
"Nintendo Co., Ltd. (HQ: Kyoto, Minami-ku, Japan; Representative Director and President: Shuntaro Furukawa, “Nintendo” hereafter), together with The Pokémon Company, filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Pocketpair, Inc. (HQ: 2-10-2 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, “Defendant” hereafter) on September 18, 2024.
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 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."
The Pokémon Company released a statement earlier this year in January, mentioning how it would "take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights" related to Pokémon.