Nintendo's Character-Summoning Patent Has Been Rejected

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has rejected Nintendo‘s character-summoning patent in a non-final but impactful ruling. While the company behind Pokemon and Zelda is infamously litigious, many saw this particular patent filing as an extreme step and were surprised by its initial success. It did not take long for things to change, though, and now the legal argument by Nintendo against alleged copycats looks a little shakier.

Back in September 2025, Nintendo secured a patent for summoning characters into battle, which some saw as a move to strengthen the company’s IP amid its ongoing lawsuit against Palworld. While the mechanic described in the patent revolves around a fairly Pokemon-specific sequence of steps, some legal analysts were surprised that the USPTO granted it to Nintendo and warned of broader implications for the gaming industry. It seemed like a shocking victory for the gaming giant at the time, but now, less than a year later, the tides have turned.

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U.S. Patent Office Issues Non-Final Rejection of Nintendo’s Character-Summoning Patent

In a USPTO order obtained by Games Fray, the Office rejected all 26 claims under patent number 12,403,397 that Nintendo obtained last September. This follows a November 2025 action where the USPTO’s Director ordered a re-examination of Nintendo’s patent and is a stark departure from the initial ruling, albeit one that’s likely more of what legal analysts had expected. It is a non-final ruling, meaning Nintendo still has two months to appeal it and take the case to the Federal Circuit, but if the company does not appeal, the patent will be revoked. More significantly, it also reflects broader skepticism among the USPTO about Nintendo’s grounds for attempting to patent a mechanic that may not be entirely unique to Pokemon.

While this case may not be over yet, it is a setback for Nintendo nonetheless, as it will, at the very least, draw out the legal proceedings. It’s not the only such obstacle the company has encountered recently, either. In October 2025, the Japan Patent Office rejected Nintendo’s monster-capture patent application, citing how games like Monster Hunter 4 and ARK: Survival Evolved featured similar mechanics and came out before the application’s December 2021 priority date. Similarly, the USPTO pointed to four prior art references that feature summoning characters to battle alongside the player character as evidence for this latest rejection. It is worth noting that these references are earlier patents, not real-world video games, so Nintendo may have a case in arguing that other developers haven’t combined these ideas in an actual game, but it’s unclear if Nintendo will proceed that way or how that argument would hold up.

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The development adds another wrinkle in Nintendo’s ongoing legal battle against Palworld and other alleged imitators. This specific patent may not have been part of the Palworld case, but it’s hard not to connect the dots in the context of Nintendo trying to fight off games with similar mechanics. Despite the company’s efforts, the legal proceedings don’t seem to have hindered the competition. Palworld is still going strong, and the newly announced Pickmon looks like another riff on the Pokemon and Palworld formula, so the creature-catching and battling market is getting more crowded.

Regardless of how Nintendo proceeds with this patent, it’s unclear how it might affect the Palworld lawsuit. Even if it emerges victorious, having one patent does not necessarily mean it will win another, larger case, and a ruling in either direction will take time. In the meantime, Palworld is rapidly approaching its 1.0 update, and Pokemon has several big releases in the pipeline, so there is something to look forward to for fans of both properties, legal drama aside.