Nintendo's Palworld-Related Patent Rejected in Japan: 2013 Fan-Made Pokémon Game Was the Key
Japan's Patent Office has issued a final rejection of Nintendo and The Pokemon Company's application for a touchscreen creature-capture patent. The decisive prior art was a 2013 fan-made 3D Pokemon video, and the examiner dismissed Nintendo's argument that a copyright-infringing video cannot count. Here is what it means for the Palworld lawsuit, fact separated from speculation.