nintendo received a new setback in his legal dispute with pocketpairdeveloper of Palworldafter the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) ordered an exceptional review of one of its patents. According to GamesFrayhe November 3, 2025 the director of the organization, John A. Squiresintervened personally to reopen the file US Patent No. 12,403,397which describes a system for “summoning a subcharacter and allowing him to fight in two different modes.”
The measure, known as Director-Initiated Ex Parte Reexaminationis a rare process and cites two previous patents: one filed by Konami in 2002 and another for her own Nintendo in 2019both with similar functions. Although the review does not immediately void the registration, it could invalidate the registration if it is determined that the items were already described in those earlier references.
An unusual precedent in the video game industry
It is the first review initiated by USPTO leadership in more than a decadewhich reflects the controversy generated by the validity of the patent. The organization gave Nintendo a period of two months to respondbut legal analysts consider it likely that the main claims—the sections 1, 13, 25 and 26— be annulled, which would render the rest of the document void. This would weaken the central argument in the company's defense in its litigation against Palworld.
A second setback after rejection in Japan
The decision comes a week after the Japan Patent Office rejected a related request, considering that the creature capture system lacked originality. Said patent is part of the same family used in the lawsuit that Nintendo and The Pokémon Company maintain against Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court from September 2024. The case, supervised by the judge Motoyuki Nakashimawill continue through 2026 as both parties adjust their legal strategy.
Can nintendo maintain the validity of its patent or will be forced to rethink its defense in the international conflict with pocketpair?
