The Palworld Lawsuit Is Worse Than You Think

Summary

Nintendo has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against the developer of 'Power World,' a game similar to 'Pokemon.' The lawsuit seeks an injunction and compensation for damages, alleging that 'Power World' infringes on multiple patents related to 'Pokemon' mechanics. The video discusses the negative impact of game patents on creativity and innovation, citing examples such as Warner Brothers' Nemesis system patent from 'Shadow of Mordor.' The host expresses frustration with the potential chilling effect on indie developers and the gaming industry as a whole.

Takeaways

• ⚖️ Nintendo has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocket Pair, the developer of the game 'Power World', in Tokyo district court.
• 💡 The lawsuit is specifically for patent infringement, not copyright infringement, indicating that the issue is about mechanics or systems, not character designs.
• 🚫 Nintendo is known to protect its intellectual property aggressively, and this lawsuit is part of that stance.
• 🤔 The script suggests that patenting game mechanics can stifle creativity and innovation within the gaming industry.
• 🎮 Examples are given of how certain game mechanics, like Warner Brothers' Nemesis system from 'Shadow of Mordor', have been patented, limiting their use by other developers.
• 📉 The potential negative impact of such patents is that they can prevent the evolution and improvement of game genres.
• 📅 The Nemesis system patent, for instance, expires in 2035, meaning other games cannot legally implement a similar system until then.
• 💼 Pocket Pair, as a small indie game company, may face significant financial and developmental challenges due to the lawsuit.
• 📝 Nintendo has not specified which patents they believe have been infringed upon, leaving Pocket Pair and the public uncertain about the specifics.
• 🕹️ The lawsuit could discourage indie developers from creating games in similar genres for fear of legal repercussions.
• 📉 The script concludes with a strong personal opinion that patents on basic game mechanics are detrimental to the gaming industry.

Q & A

What is the main reason for Nintendo's lawsuit against Pocket Pair?

Nintendo is suing Pocket Pair for patent infringement, not copyright infringement. They claim that the game 'Power World' developed by Pocket Pair infringes on multiple patent rights that Nintendo has related to Pokemon games.

What are some examples of game mechanics that can be patented?

Game mechanics such as the Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor, loading screen mini-games, dialogue wheels, vehicle navigation systems, object collection mechanics like in Katamari, and alternate space gameplay are examples of patented game mechanics.

Why is the patent system frustrating for game developers?

The patent system can be frustrating for game developers because it stifles creativity and innovation. Patents on game mechanics can prevent other developers from using similar systems for a set number of years, which can limit the evolution of game genres and overall game development.

What is the Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor and why is it significant?

The Nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor is a feature where unique named enemies remember past encounters with the player, adapting their behavior and status based on the outcomes of previous fights. It adds depth and personality to the game. It's significant because it's a patented feature that, due to the patent, has not been widely adopted in other games, limiting its potential impact on the gaming industry.

What is Pocket Pair's response to the lawsuit filed by Nintendo?

Pocket Pair acknowledged the lawsuit and stated they will begin appropriate legal proceedings and investigations into the claims. They are unaware of the specific patents they are accused of infringing upon and will continue to pursue their goal of creating fun games.

What are some of the potential outcomes for Pocket Pair if they lose the lawsuit?

If Pocket Pair loses the lawsuit, they may be required to make adjustments to the systems or mechanics found to infringe upon Nintendo's patents and could also have to pay a fee or fine to Nintendo. This could cost them a significant amount of money and potentially hinder their game development.

How does the lawsuit affect the indie game development community?

The lawsuit can have a chilling effect on indie game developers, discouraging them from creating games in similar genres or with similar mechanics for fear of legal repercussions. This can stifle creativity and innovation within the indie game development community.

What is the patent that Nintendo has related to encouraging healthy sleeping habits?

Nintendo has a patent for a system that encourages healthy sleeping habits by generating a breeding event in a virtual life form game when the user wakes up in the morning, which is designed to motivate the user to wake up and engage with the game.

What are some of the other patents Nintendo holds related to Pokemon games?

Nintendo holds several Pokemon-related patents, including ones for throwing a ball to capture weakened creatures, summoning and riding creatures, actively swapping mounts while riding, storing creatures inside a ball or terminal system, and various other mechanics.

Why is the patent system considered bad for gamers?

The patent system can be considered bad for gamers because it can prevent the development of games that improve upon existing mechanics, leading to less innovation and potentially fewer enjoyable gaming experiences. It can also lead to fewer games in certain genres due to the risk of patent infringement lawsuits.

What are some examples of other companies that have patented game mechanics?

Other companies that have patented game mechanics include Warner Bros with the Nemesis system, Bandai Namco with loading screen mini-games, BioWare with the dialogue wheel, Sega with the arrow over vehicle navigation system, and Blubber Team with playing in two alternate versions of the same space simultaneously.

Outlines

00:00

📰 Nintendo's Patent Infringement Lawsuit

Nintendo has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocket Pair, the developer of Power World, in Japan. The lawsuit was announced by Pocket Pair and seeks an injunction and compensation for damages, alleging that Power World infringes on multiple Nintendo patents. The video script clarifies that the lawsuit is about patent infringement, not copyright infringement. This means that the lawsuit is not about similarities in character design but rather about game mechanics or features that Nintendo claims ownership of through patents.

05:02

🚫 The Impact of Patents on Game Development

The script discusses the broader implications of patenting game mechanics and how it can stifle creativity and innovation in the gaming industry. It uses the example of Warner Brothers' patent on the Nemesis system from the Shadow of Mordor games, which has prevented other developers from using a similar system until the patent expires in 2035. The frustration lies in the fact that such patents can prevent other games from implementing innovative mechanics, leading to less variety and potential improvement in gaming experiences.

10:02

🤔 The Mystery of Nintendo's Patent Claims

The script continues to discuss the specifics of Nintendo's patents, which cover a range of mechanics in the Pokémon games, such as capturing creatures with a ball and promoting healthy sleeping habits through gameplay. However, it is unclear which exact patents are being infringed upon by Power World, as neither Nintendo nor Pocket Pair have specified. Pocket Pair, a small indie game company, has expressed confusion and concern over the lawsuit, stating they are unaware of the specific patents in question and are committed to creating fun games for their fans.

15:03

📉 The Potential Fallout of the Lawsuit

The final paragraph delves into the potential consequences of the lawsuit for Pocket Pair and the gaming industry as a whole. If the lawsuit proceeds and Pocket Pair is found to be infringing on Nintendo's patents, they may have to alter their game's mechanics, pay fines, or even face the possibility of shutting down if the financial burden becomes too great. The script emphasizes the negative impact of such lawsuits on indie developers, who may be deterred from creating games in similar genres for fear of legal action, ultimately limiting creativity and innovation in the gaming industry.

Keywords

💡Patent Infringement

Patent infringement occurs when someone uses, sells, or imports a patented invention without the permission of the patent owner. In the video's context, Nintendo is suing Pocket Pair for alleged patent infringement related to Pokémon, suggesting that the mechanics or systems in Pocket Pair's game are too similar to those patented by Nintendo. The video discusses the broader implications of patent lawsuits on game development and creativity.

💡Intellectual Property

Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and symbols, used in commerce. The video emphasizes Nintendo's efforts to protect its intellectual property, particularly its patents, which are a form of IP that gives the inventor exclusive rights for a certain period, in this case, related to Pokémon games.

💡Pokémon

Pokémon is a popular media franchise owned by Nintendo that involves capturing, training, and battling with creatures called Pokémon. The video discusses a lawsuit filed by Nintendo against Pocket Pair, alleging that the latter's game infringes on patents that Nintendo holds for mechanics and systems similar to those in Pokémon games.

💡Pocket Pair

Pocket Pair is a small indie game company based in Tokyo, known for developing games, including the one mentioned in the video, which has drawn the attention of Nintendo due to alleged patent infringements. The video highlights the challenges faced by indie developers like Pocket Pair when they are involved in lawsuits with larger entities over intellectual property rights.

💡Game Mechanics

Game mechanics refer to the methods and rules that govern how a game functions and how the players interact with it. The video criticizes the practice of patenting game mechanics, arguing that it stifles innovation and creativity in the gaming industry, as developers may be discouraged from creating games with similar mechanics to avoid legal issues.

💡Patents

A patent is an exclusive right granted for an invention, which includes any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof. The video discusses the negative impact of patents on game development, particularly when they cover game mechanics, which can prevent other developers from using or improving upon these mechanics.

💡Nemesis System

The Nemesis system is a feature from the game 'Shadow of Mordor,' where unique enemies remember past encounters with the player, adapting and evolving based on these interactions. The video uses the Nemesis system as an example of a patented game mechanic that has not been widely adopted due to patent restrictions, limiting innovation in game design.

💡Loading Screen Mini-Games

Loading screen mini-games are small games that players can engage with during the loading screens of larger games. The video mentions Bandai Namco's patent for this concept, which allowed players to interact with mini-games while waiting for the main game to load. However, due to the patent, this innovative feature was not widely adopted by other game developers.

💡Indie Game Developers

Indie game developers are individuals or small teams that create video games independently, without the backing of a large publisher. The video expresses concern for indie developers like Pocket Pair, who may be deterred from creating games in certain genres due to the fear of patent infringement lawsuits and the financial burden they can impose.

💡Legal Proceedings

Legal proceedings refer to the process of conducting a lawsuit in a court of law. In the context of the video, legal proceedings are initiated by Nintendo against Pocket Pair for alleged patent infringement. The video discusses the financial and creative impact of such legal actions on game developers, especially smaller indie studios.

💡Stifling Creativity

Stifling creativity implies hindering or suppressing the generation of new ideas and innovation. The video argues that patent lawsuits, particularly over game mechanics, can stifle creativity in the gaming industry by discouraging developers from experimenting with or building upon existing mechanics for fear of legal repercussions.

Highlights

Nintendo files patent infringement lawsuit against Pocket Pair in Japan.

Lawsuit seeks injunction and compensation for damages.

Nintendo is suing for patent infringement, not copyright infringement.

Patent infringement suggests similarities in game mechanics, not character models.

Patents can cover game mechanics and systems, stifling creativity in the industry.

Warner Brothers patented the Nemesis system from Shadow of Mordor.

Patents prevent other games from using innovative mechanics for 20 years.

Bandai Namco patented mini-games during loading screens.

BioWare patented the dialogue wheel, Sega patented navigation systems.

Nintendo has numerous Pokemon-related patents, including mechanics for capturing creatures.

Pocket Pair is unaware of the specific patents infringed upon.

Pocket Pair is a small indie game company based in Tokyo.

The lawsuit could force changes to Power World's mechanics and cost Pocket Pair significantly.

The lawsuit may discourage indie developers from creating similar games.

The potential outcome of the lawsuit could impact game development and innovation.

The frustration with patents over basic game mechanics is expressed.

The video concludes with a call for less restrictive patent practices in gaming.

Transcripts

hey uh fair warning not sure I'm going

to be able to keep it together for this

one yeah okay so here's the story

Nintendo just filed a patent

infringement lawsuit in Japan against po

World developer pocket pair they

released a public statement announcing

this suit on Wednesday which said

Nintendo together with the Pokemon

company filed a patent infringement

lawsuit in the Tokyo district court

against pocket pair on September 18th

2024 this lawsuit seeks an injunction

against infringement and compensation

for damages on the grounds that pow

world a game developed and released by

the defendant infringes multiple patent

rights Nintendo will continue to take

necessary actions against any

infringements of its intellectual

property rights including the Nintendo

brand itself to protect the intellectual

properties it has worked hard for it

establish over the years so the first

thing to make clear here is that

Nintendo is suing specifically for

patent infringement and not copyright

infringement what that means is that

they aren't suing powor because let's

say the power world creatures look

awfully similar to poke creatures you

might remember when pal world first got

popular this was a big point of

discussion with many people even

theorizing that some Pals were directly

ripping Pokemon models and then being

slightly altered for their game now even

if we think that's true that isn't what

this lawsuit is about and trust me if

Nintendo could sue for that they would

absolutely if they had even the tiniest

shred of evidence the pocket pair stole

and ripped off Pokemon character models

they would sue them into Oblivion and

you know what that would be reasonable

you can't steal code or directly rip

someone's assets for your own IP I mean

you can do that but you can't do it

without expecting consequences but again

that's not what's happening here looking

fairly similar isn't enough which is

exactly why Nintendo hasn't sued for

copyright infringement no they are suing

for infringements on patents related to

Pokemon or in other words they're suing

because they believe there are mechanics

systems or features from Pokemon games

that Nintendo has patented and claim

ownership of that are similar to the

ones being used in power worlds now at

this point you might be asking yourself

can you patent game mechanics and

systems yes yes you can it's about as

stupid as it sounds it is one of the

most frustrating things to me in this

industry because you will get these

games with really cool ideas or features

hats off to the people who make them but

then no one else can use them for 20

years all thanks to patents it stifles

creativity it stifles the evolution of

genres and legitimately holds back game

development it just makes gaming as a

whole worse we get worse games because

of these Pats or we don't get games that

are as good as they could be without

question we have seen less Innovation

and growth in games in in this hobby all

due to patents here's a few examples

some well-known things off the top of my

mind not really I've written them down

but okay so the first one that

particularly pisses me off is Warner

Brothers patent for the Nemesis system

from Shadow of Mordor if you don't know

in that game you would regularly come in

conflict with these unique named enemies

over and over again so you would fight

someone with the name I don't know

gorthor the destroyer and then whatever

the outcome of the fight whether you won

whether you lost whether you ran away

eventually later on in the game you

could bump into them again and in that

next encounter gorthor would remember

what happened and comment on what

occurred saying something like hey

you're going to run away from me again

and then on top of that though they

would evolve getting stronger or weaker

climbing up in the ranks or being

demoted all based on what occurred in

your previous fights with them and this

would keep happening over and over and

over again getting more layers deeper

interaction and history between the

characters and then these Nemesis

creatures fighting other characters and

then getting stuff based on that it was

just a super cool system a lot of fun to

engage with and it added a whole heck of

a lot of drama and personality to what

would otherwise just be fighting

forgettable mini bosses or Elites in

many other games this Nemesis system was

so awesome myself found a lot of people

really really liked it however it hasn't

been used in any other game franchise

since not because it wasn't good but

because Warner Brothers had patented it

so unless they happen to make another

game that uses the Nemesis system which

they have not beyond the shadow of war

and Shadow of Mordor games we are not

going to see any other game that has it

until their patent runs Runs Out in 2035

yes we've got another 11 years of

waiting Actually I don't even know if a

game can start development using that

system until after the patent runs out

so in which case we might be waiting

until 2040 before we see another game

that has a nemesis likee system thanks a

lot Warner Brothers really appreciate it

and what is so frustrating about this

like I said is that it really stifles

growth and innovation in gaming because

yes the Nemesis system was amazing like

hats off to the Shadow of Mordor

developer monolith they made a

phenomenal system that really elevated

the open World experience it just made

it so much more interesting coming

across these difficult encounters these

Nemesis and having these layers in depth

and history and backstory just based on

what you did with them in the game it

was so cool but now it's been 10 years

since the initial release of Shadow of

Mordor and in an alternate timeline we

could have had many other games using

even better more evolved and improved

versions of that system in fact I'll

I'll just say it plainly many open World

Games would have been better without

question if they could have implemented

some variation of the Nemesis system but

they didn't because in this timeline in

reality thanks to Warner's patent it

hasn't and it will not happen for at

least another 11 years now I will add a

note here uh with patents like this we

could technically see other games use

these things but in actuality it never

happens because if another game

developer wanted to have something like

that in their game they would have to

pay Warner Bros a licensing fee and that

fee would likely cost a ton of money so

so as a result they just don't bother

and that's the thing the result is we

don't get to play any more games with

the Nemesis system until after 2035 or

if Warner Bros eventually gets around to

making more games with it I think they

have a Wonder Woman game that's

supposedly going to be implementing it I

believe if if I'm recalling correctly

we've only had two in the past decade

and we could have had a whole lot more

and if you haven't played the game you

might not fully understand but this is a

I think a perfect example of a patent

stifling the industry open World Games

having the incl of Nemesis systems would

add a lot more to so many games that are

out there right now and that one's

really personal to me for that reason

because I played Shadow of Mordor and

was blown away by the system when I

first encountered it and at the time I

thought wow this is a great mechanic

open world games are going to be so much

better and evolving and improving on

this in the future but nope that's not

what happened uh there's plenty of other

patents that I feel have held back

gaming as well another good example is

the Bandai Namco patent on loading

screen Min games so for a lot of gear

loading screens were a pretty big issue

something we had to deal with especially

back in the 9s you would often have

these games with loading screens that

took a full minute or even multiple

minutes of waiting before you could get

back to playing for the most part this

just meant staring at a progress bar

maybe getting some concept darts some

tips on the screen usually it meant

going up to get a drink or go to the

bathroom but then in 1995 Bandai Namco

they had this great idea what if they

offered mini games that you could play

while you waited for the main game to

load and that was pretty cool they did

this with their game Ridge Racer as well

as Tekken 5 those are two most notable

ones un unfortunately though they yes

also patented this idea of what they

called auxiliary games while waiting for

the main game and so we never saw it

again this patent did happen to expire

in 2015 but by that point most games no

longer had multi-e loading screens so

there wasn't much use case for it any

longer but there was an entire 20year

period where it would have been awesome

to have mini games in our loading

screens for many different games Beyond

Bandai Namco owned ones but we didn't

thanks to Bandai namco's patent here's a

few other quickly BioWare had a patent

of the dialogue wheel with the cinal

directions of a wheel representing

certain sentiments or regular responses

sega's patent of the arrow over vehicle

navigation system from Crazy Taxi which

Sega then used to sue Fox over as they

had a similar mechanic in The Simpsons

driving game Katamari has a patent for

its whole stick which is rolling an

object around that picks up other

objects in the environment growing ever

bigger in the process if you wondered

why we never saw more games like it it's

because of the patent blubber team had a

patent for playing in two alternate

versions of the same space

simultaneously on a split screen which

is a mechanic they used in the game the

medium and then Nintendo also even had

the sanity system patent all the way

back for Eternal Darkness although that

one was evidently specific enough that

many other games have released with

similar systems but not exactly the same

but back to Nintendo suing pocket pair

overpowered let's dive into that a

little further so right now we don't

actually know exactly and apparently

pocket pair they don't know either

exactly which patents Nintendo are suing

for they have said that there are

multiple patents being infringed upon

but haven't clarified exactly what ones

now Nintendo has quite a few Pokemon

related patents listed broadly speaking

these things cover the following

throwing a ball to capture weakened

creatures and then throwing that ball

again after capture to release them

under your control summoning and riding

a creature you've captured via the

aformentioned ball system actively

swapping mounts while riding them

storing captured creatures inside of a

ball and or a terminal like system and

how about this one encouraging healthy

sleeping habits by tending to capture

creatures in their game I am not joking

they have a patent for encouraging

healthy sleeping habits now those are

the dumb down simplified explanations of

these patents and fact is that every

single one of these has very specific

language with fine details on exactly

how those systems are implemented with

minua like exactly how is a ball thrown

that captures a creature how many shakes

does the ball do in an attempt to

capture said creature the specific

method of riding and swapping your C

captured creatures and what specific

ways does the game promote healthy

sleeping habits so for example in the

patent that they have for quote the

gamification of Health Awareness based

on wakeup time it reads like this an

object is to provide a user with

motivation to enjoy waking up in the

morning and guide the user to sufficient

Awakening by generating a breeding event

in a breeding game of a virtual life

form when the user wakes up in the

morning and it goes on from there but

yes broadly speaking that list of things

are some of the stuff that Nintendo has

Pokemon patents for they're just a few

examples they have many many more

patents pertinent specifically to

Pokemon now as of now we just don't know

which combinations of these patents

Nintendo is claiming have been infringed

and as I mentioned pal World developer

pocket pair they don't know either

according to them they've not yet been

told they actually released an official

statement via Twitter in regards to the

suit and it says regarding the lawsuit

yesterday a lawsuit was filed against

our company for patent infringement we

have received notice of this lawsuit and

will begin the appropriate legal

proceedings and investigations into the

claims of patent infringement at this

moment we are unaware of the specific

patents we are accused of infringing

upon and we have not yet been notified

of such details pocket pair is a small

indie game company based in Tokyo our

goal as a company has always been to

create fun games we will continue to

pursue this goal because we know that

our games bring joy to millions of

Gamers around the world power world was

a surprise success this year both for

gamers and for us we were blown away by

the amazing response to the game and

have been working hard to make it even

better for our fans we will continue

improving po world and strive to create

a game that our fans can be proud of it

is truly unfortunate that we will be

forced to allocate significant time and

matters unrelated to game development

due to this lawsuit however we will do

our utmost for our fans and to ensure

that indie game developers are not

hindered or discouraged from pursuing

their creative ideas we apologize to our

fans as always thank you it goes on and

that last bit is I think really the rub

um it's just it's so so frustrating on

so many levels in terms of this lawsuit

and the potential outcome right well if

they don't settle out of court odds are

pocket pair will be required to make

adjustments to whatever systems or

mechanics are found to infringe upon

Nintendo's patents and then after that

they will probably also have to pay some

sort of fee or fine to Nintendo either

way Nintendo is going to cost pocket

pair a good chunk of money whether

that's just the cost of having to go

through a lawsuit even if they are found

not guilty of infringement or if they

are found guilty of infringement having

to then pay Nintendo directly the game

is not going to shut down well I guess

it could if Nintendo bleeds pocket pair

dry enough of money that they go out of

business in which case the game could

probably shut down and all of this in

the name of some flipping patents on

game mechanics honestly this entire

situation it's crap unless Nintendo has

like some proof that pocket pair stole

and copy pasted source code from Pokemon

games to use in po world if that's the

case I totally understand but the idea

that they're suing the devs because the

games have similar mechanics like

capturing monsters in a ball or

incentivizing healthy sleeping habits

like it's all garbage man patents over

basic game mechanics and systems are

dumb and they shouldn't be a thing as

far as I'm concerned I am no legal

expert I this is completely out of my

depth but just the basis of it is so

frustrating to me and they also want to

make it clear I am in full support of

companies protecting their brand and

protecting their IP if someone is

straight ripping Pokemon code changing

the colors and slapping a new name on

the game that's one thing but putting

patents on ideas for systems and

features it's just bad it sucks now it's

always sucked especially when it comes

to this point where we are seeing

lawsuits it is bad bad for game

developers and it's bad for us the

gamers this stifles creativity it

prevents more games from not just having

similar systems but then improving on

them adding to them and making better

games as a result and Nintendo coming

out in suing pocket pair this is the

kind of show of force that will likely

prevent other developers from trying to

make games that are similar in that

monster capture genre Indie devs they

don't want to risk getting sued by

Nintendo like are you kidding me so the

end result is many won't bother they

they won't try to make a game that

innovates and expands upon Pokémon's

shortcomings they'll just do something

else entirely now I do realize as well

there's still a lot we don't know and

there's definitely without question a

lot of nuance here other monster capture

games do in fact exist that Nintendo

hasn't sued for patent infringement and

we don't know yet exactly what Nintendo

is suing for they haven't specified we

see their patents we know they're suing

because they think multiple patents have

been infringed they just haven't said

what ones so the patents that have been

infringed upon how they were infringed

EX exactly how closely are pow worlds

mechanics similar to that of Pokémons

all of that will come out during the

process of this lawsuit assuming it all

goes public uh even still though like

the Nintendo story specifics aside

generally speaking I dislike this

practice and what it does to gaming the

Warner Bros patent on the Nemesis system

is the one that tilts me in particular I

think a lot of my Vigor in this video is

like suppressed anger over that the fact

that more games don't have every open

world game should have a nemesis system

and they would all be better because of

it it's a blanket statement but you

honestly man it just tilts me so much it

was so damn cool and they've made pretty

much zero use of it over this past

decade all because they have a patent

they're not making other games and no

one else can do it either so I guess

we'll just get to experience games with

Nemesis systems sometime after 2035 if

I'm still alive looking forward to it I

just hate it so much dude I hate I hate

this so much honestly it it it makes

gaming worse no thank you all right

that's all for today thank you for

watching see you next time