By Dexerto | Created at 2026-07-18 17:26:39 | Updated at 2026-08-03 18:42:41
2 weeks ago
Nintendo has suffered another setback in its efforts to patent monster-catching mechanics, with a Japanese examiner citing an unofficial Pokemon fan game as evidence that the company’s ideas weren’t original.
The application covers a touchscreen-based system in which players move through a 3D world, throw capture items at creatures, summon monsters into battle, and select commands during combat.
However, the Japan Patent Office ruled that these mechanics lacked an “inventive step” after finding similar systems in games and videos released years before Nintendo’s December 2021 priority date.
Pokemon Generations v.1 Trailer – IndieDB
Pokemon fan game used against Nintendo patent
According to Game Rant, one of the examiner’s cited examples was a June 2013 YouTube video titled “Pokemon Generations – 3D Indie Pokemon Gameplay.”
Pokemon Generations was an unofficial 3D action RPG created by fans, with the footage demonstrating real-time movement and familiar creature-catching mechanics more than eight years before Nintendo’s filing.
Nintendo reportedly argued that the video should not count as prior art because the fan project infringed on copyrights associated with the Pokemon franchise.
The examiner rejected that defense, finding that any alleged copyright infringement did not change what the publicly available footage demonstrated about the mechanics already existing.
Pokémon Generations: Capturing – IndieDB
Other cited material reportedly included ARK Mobile, PUBG Mobile, Pokemon X and Y, additional gameplay videos, and several older Japanese patent filings.
Rather than finding every element of Nintendo’s application in one game, the examiner determined that a developer could have combined existing touchscreen controls and established monster-catching systems without creating anything sufficiently inventive.
The application, numbered 2026-019762, had already been rejected once in April before Nintendo amended its claims and continued pursuing it.
Although it belongs to the same patent family as patents Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are attempting to enforce against Palworld developer Pocketpair, this specific application is not part of the ongoing lawsuit.
Its touchscreen focus prompted speculation that it could instead be relevant to upcoming mobile creature-catching games, including Palworld Mobile. Patent Arcade previously noted that the filing covers using touch controls to deploy capture items.
The rejection ends the application’s ordinary examination, but Nintendo still has three months to request an appeal before a Japan Patent Office panel. It could also continue pursuing the concept through another application with narrower claims.
