Nintendo and The Pokémon Company protect 'valuable' IP by suing Palworld

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Patent infringers: Gotta catch 'em all

Pokemon vs Palworld
(Image credit: Future/Pocket Pair/Nintendo)

After nearly nine months of silence, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company are officially suing Pocketpair, the developer of monster-catching game Palworld, for numerous patent infringement claims.

As per a statement released on September 19, Nintendo says that "the lawsuit seeks an injunction against the defendants and compensation for damages", alleging that Palworld infringes on several of Pokémon's patents.

Pokémons or Pals?

Palworld screenshot

(Image credit: Pocketpair)

If you've been a fan of the third-best-selling game series of all time, then one glimpse of Palworld's monster designs could have you scratching your head. But the designs aren't the only thing that Pals and your favorite Pokémon have in common.

For starters, Palworld is a third-person, open-world survival game. Players can explore a huge world and interact with its animal-like inhabitants, dubbed Pals. There are more than 130 Pals in total, and each of them can be battled in combat, weakened and ultimately captured using a 'Pal Sphere'... seems a little familiar, eh?

Once you’ve caught a Pal, you can summon it in combat to assist you or station it at your home base to help with crafting. Plus, you can play with up to four players and explore the world together.

At the time of writing, Pocketpair has yet to respond to the lawsuit filing. If or when that changes, we'll be sure to keep you in the loop.

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Lucy Scotting
Lucy Scotting
Staff Writer

Lucy Scotting is a digital content writer for Tom’s Guide in Australia, primarily covering NBN and internet-related news. Lucy started her career writing for HR and staffing industry publications, with articles covering emerging tech, business and finance. In her spare time, Lucy can be found watching sci-fi movies, working on her dystopian fiction novel or hanging out with her dog, Fletcher.