Summary
Pocketpair’sdefence in its lawsuitwithNintendohas been shared publicly. Here, thePalworlddev argues that Nintendo can’t come after its own game because it ignored multiple other titles - and fan-made mods - with similar mechanics.
This comes after Nintendolaunched a lawsuit against Pocketpair back in Septemberof last year, alleging patent infringement. This centres aroundthe monster capture mechanics in Palworld, which Nintendo argues are too similar to the systems it has patented for thePokemonseries.
As reported byGamesfray(spotted byVGC), Pocketpair is defending itself by arguing that the patents should not have been granted in the first place. It argues that this is because other games and mods have used similar systems without facing Nintendo’s legal wrath.
Here’s Palworld’s Defence In The Pokemon Lawsuit
According to Gamesfray, the most important titles that Pocketpair lists in the lawsuit are Craftopia (one of its own games), Ark: Survival Evolved, and a Dark Souls 3 mod, Pocket Souls.
Many other games are also referenced. For example, Pocketpair argues that Titanfall 2 and Pikmin 3 Deluxe already use creature or monster releasing mechanics, like Pokemon. As for capturing creatures, Pocketpair points to Octopath Traveller, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, and a Fallout 4 mod, Nukamon. Then, we finish with the claim that Palworld copied Pokemon by having “smooth switching”, where a character can quickly switch to riding a Pokemon or Pal to gain flight or other abilities. For this, Pocketpair says that Ark got there first.
It remains to be seen if this argument is successful. In any case, it’s safe to assume that the mod authors won’t be best pleased that their work is being brought up in a lawsuit involving Nintendo.
