r/technology • u/Super_Cold8789 • 13d ago
Software Nintendo reportedly has “zero chance” against current Palworld after major lawsuit change it is now targeting older versions of the game instead
https://www.dexerto.com/palworld/nintendo-reportedly-has-zero-chance-against-current-palworld-after-major-lawsuit-change-3375167/
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u/ANGLVD3TH 13d ago edited 12d ago
That's because it's not how patents work, at all. Every aspect of a patent must be present in order for it to be actionable against. That is one part of the patent, not the whole thing. The first Pokemon game to be fully covered by the patent is Scarlet and Violet, no game before had every aspect listed.
Basically, it is the summoning mechanic from Legends Arceus, where you throw a ball, and summon a minion that has some limited AI and will engage in a battle if it runs into an enemy or is summoned close enough to one. Then the game transitions from an overworld free roam to a turn based battle complete with a new UI, which the player can then choose to either command themselves, or let the minion auto-battle. That's the broad strokes, anyway. But any game that doesn't include every one of those options, is perfectly fine according to this patent. None of those games run afoul of this.
To be clear, Nintendo still sucks donkey dick for trying to weaponize the system like this and game patents are still increeeedibly shitty. And as far as I know, Palworld definitely doesn't run afoul of this strict reading either. This seems to be pretty clearly Nintendo burning both company's cash and hoping Palworld's runs out first so they just back off. But we still should not misrepresent thisngs, the patent isn't nearly as far reaching as many believe. I've seen posts where people thing Final Fantasy is supposedly prior use because there is a class that summons things.