The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office director has personally ordered reexamination of Patent No. 12,403,397, a Nintendo patent protecting in-game character summoning mechanics. This marks the first director-initiated reexamination since 2012. The decision creates significant complications for Nintendo’s ongoing patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair in Tokyo District Court.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
Director’s Rare Action and Legal Reasoning
Director John A. Squires, appointed in September 2025, determined that substantial new questions of patentability exist. Squires cited two previously overlooked patents as prior art that should invalidate claims 1, 13, 25, and 26:[3][7][8][1]
- Konami Yabe Patent (2002): U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2002/0119811 describes automatic and manual sub-character combat modes[7][1][3]
- Nintendo Taura Patent (2020): U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2020/0254335 covers identical dual-mode battle mechanics[8][1][3]
Squires wrote that a reasonable examiner would find both patents “important in deciding whether the claims are patentable.” Neither patent appeared in Nintendo’s original 2023 examination file.[2][1][3]
Read More: Nintendo patent hints at potential return of DS games
Impact on Palworld Litigation
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company filed suit in Tokyo District Court on September 18, 2024, alleging Palworld infringes multiple patents. IP expert Florian Mueller stated that patent invalidation is “highly likely,” describing the claim structure as “a house of cards.”[4][9][10][2][3]
This follows Japan’s October 2025 rejection of Nintendo’s divisional creature capture patent, citing prior art from Monster Hunter 4, ARK: Survival Evolved, and Pokémon Go. Mueller wrote: “This is now the second case in two weeks where a patent related to Nintendo’s assertions against Palworld is viewed skeptically by a top patent office.”[5][11][12][2][3]
Pocketpair has modified Palworld’s disputed mechanics through updates in November 2024 and May 2025, removing direct sphere-throwing summoning and changing gliding systems.[6][9][4]
Reexamination Timeline and Outcomes
| Outcome | Probability | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|
| Claims amended | 63.8% | 12-18 months |
| Claims cancelled | 26.4% | 12-18 months |
| Claims unchanged | 9.8% | 12-18 months |
Nintendo has two months to submit defense arguments before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board. Final Tokyo court decisions are expected in 2026.[1][2][3][4]
Nintendo’s Strong Financial Performance
Despite legal complications, Nintendo reported robust results for its first half of fiscal 2026 (April–September 2025).[13][14][15][16]
Switch 2 launch figures significantly exceeded the original Switch:
- Switch 2: 10.36 million units in four months[15][16][17]
- Original Switch: 4.7 million units in comparable period[17][18][19]
- Fastest console launch in history[19][20][17]
Financial metrics show strong momentum: net sales reached 1.0995 trillion yen (up 110.1%), operating profit rose to 145.1 billion yen (up 19.5%), and net profit increased to 198.9 billion yen (up 85%).[14][16][13]
Software sales totaled 20.62 million units, led by Mario Kart World with 9.57 million copies, Donkey Kong Bananza with 3.49 million, and Super Mario Party Jamboree with 1.16 million.[21][22][13][17]
Nintendo raised its full-year forecast to 350 billion yen from 300 billion yen.[23][13][14]
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Industry Context and Patent Breadth Concerns
The summoning patent’s breadth triggered industry backlash when granted in September 2025. Similar mechanics appear in Persona, Digimon, Elden Ring, and Dragon Quest series, predating modern patent disputes by decades.[12][24][2][3][8]
Notably, Nintendo’s own Taura patent from 2020 demonstrates Nintendo was patenting identical mechanics years before Palworld’s 2024 release.[25][3][1]
