Nintendo's Pokémon Patent Rejected

Nintendo 's Pokémon patent, which covers character summoning and fighting mechanics, has been rejected on a non-final basis by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office).

The legal battle between Nintendo and Palworld has been occupying the agenda for a long time. The company's recent aggressive stance is manifesting in various areas. In October 2025, we saw the rejection of a Palworld -related patent in Japan; now, the patent on character summoning and fighting has emerged from re-examination and shared a similar fate.

Another Nintendo Patent Rejected in Palworld Lawsuit

According to a report shared by Gamesfray, the USPTO has rejected Nintendo 's US patent number 12,403,397 on a non-final basis. This decision came as a result of the re-examination process that started after Nintendo missed its response deadline. The USPTO referenced several previous works while reaching this decision, including Nintendo 's own 2019 patent.

The first reference, named Taura, was filed in 2019 and covers a large portion of the 'summon and fight in 1 of 2 modes' patent. Combining this patent with Yabe and Motokura invalidates claims 1, 2, 5-7, 10-14, 17-19, and 22-26. The remaining 8 claims are evaluated within the scope of a 2020 patent by Bandai Namco and Shimomoto.

However, it is worth noting that this rejection is not yet final. Nintendo has a two-month period to appeal the decision, and the company has the right to extend this period if it wishes.

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