{"id":68192,"date":"2026-06-12T19:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=68192"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:11:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:11:16","slug":"nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-have-reportedly-narrowed-palworld-lawsuit-to-older-versions-of-the-game-only-likely-thanks-to-preventive-updates-by-pocketpair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/nintendo-and-the-pokemon-company-have-reportedly-narrowed-palworld-lawsuit-to-older-versions-of-the-game-only-likely-thanks-to-preventive-updates-by-pocketpair\/","title":{"rendered":"Nintendo and The Pok\u00e9mon Company have\u00a0reportedly narrowed\u00a0Palworld\u00a0lawsuit to older versions of the game only, likely thanks to \u201cpreventive\u201d updates by\u00a0Pocketpair\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The scope of Nintendo and The Pok\u00e9mon Company\u2019s patent infringement lawsuit against\u00a0Pocketpair\u2019s\u00a0Palworld<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 originally filed back in September 2024 \u2013\u00a0has\u00a0reportedly\u00a0been\u00a0revised to apply only to older versions of the game.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Citing publicly available court records from the Tokyo District Court, Games Fray<\/a> reports that Nintendo and The Pok\u00e9mon Company amended the scope of their claims in November 2025. While the lawsuit previously didn’t specify particular versions of Palworld, the revised filing reportedly limits its claims to older versions of the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To refresh your memory, the lawsuit alleges that\u00a0Palworld\u00a0infringes Japanese Patent No.\u00a07545191, 7493117, and 7528390, with the dispute believed to center on mechanics related to capturing monsters and gliding while mounting them. Nintendo and The Pok\u00e9mon Company are seeking an injunction against\u00a0Palworld\u00a0as well as damages of 5 million yen plus late-payment interest.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Palworld\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now, according to both Games Fray and a review of the civil case records conducted by\u00a0AUTOMATON\u2019s Japanese editorial staff\u00a0at the Tokyo District Court, the plaintiffs revised the scope of their claims in November 2025 so that they now apply only to older versions of\u00a0Palworld.\u00a0The change may be related to\u00a0updates\u00a0Pocketpair\u00a0implemented after the lawsuit was filed. In patch v0.3.11, released in November 2024, the developer removed the mechanic allowing players to summon Pals by throwing a Pal Sphere, replacing it with a system where Pals\u00a0simply\u00a0appear directly beside the player. Later, patch v0.5.5\u00a0from\u00a0May 2025\u00a0changed how gliding with Pals works, with\u00a0players\u00a0using\u00a0an item-based glider\u00a0instead of directly mounting Pals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back when it released this patch, Pocketpair issued a statement explaining the changes. The company said it remained confident that Palworld does not infringe any of the patents asserted by Nintendo and co, and maintained that the patents in question were invalid in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, Pocketpair said it had introduced the gameplay changes as preventive measures to ensure development and distribution of Palworld could continue regardless of how the litigation progressed. According to the company, the revisions were intended to make it even clearer that the game does not infringe the proposed patents. In addition to the changes introduced in patches v0.3.11 and v0.5.5, several other mechanics identified in the lawsuit were also modified as precautionary measures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

[Regarding the lawsuit, changes to Palworld and the future]

We would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the continued support of our fans over the past few months. We apologize for not being able to share as much information as we would like, but we trust\u2026<\/p>— Palworld (@Palworld_EN) May 8, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>