Nintendo denied touchscreen-specific patent as the legal battle against Palworld developer Pocketpair continues
Palworld Mobile is a potential target.
That Nintendo has been battling Palworld developer Pocketpair over “Pokémon-style monster capture and throwing mechanics” for a while now isn’t a secret. The results (so far) aren’t what the Japanese platform holder would have hoped for, however. Over the past few days, Nintendo has been dealt another blow after trying to obtain a touchscreen-specific patent.
Last month, we learned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had rejected Nintendo’s patent for summoning characters and having them fight after IP lawyers criticised it in the year leading up to the judgement. More recently – as examined by Games Fray – the entertainment giant made moves to obtain a touchscreen-specific patent, seemingly targeting games such as Palworld Mobile or Roco Kingdom: World.
The new, now-rejected patent is application no. 2026-019762, a divisional of the previous one that focuses on monster-catching mechanics, but this specific application targets touchscreen devices instead. The claim language talks about “a game program executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus equipped with a touch panel” before underlining specific Pokémon-like mechanics such as using a “capture item for capturing a field character” and using those same characters to appear in the field and fight.
“The above is simply a general monster-catching rule set. There is nothing technologically innovative about it,” the Japan Patent Office (JPO) examiner concluded. According to the analysis, there’s no “inventive step” over the “prior art“: “Nintendo already amended the claims in February and can try to amend them again.”
The rejection was communicated on 24th April, 2026, and Game Fray believes this will be another uphill battle for Nintendo should it choose to “persuade the examiner to arrive at a different conclusion”.
That Nintendo has been battling Palworld developer Pocketpair over “Pokémon-style monster capture and throwing mechanics” for a while now isn’t a secret. The results (so far) aren’t what the Japanese platform holder would have hoped for, however. Over the past few days, Nintendo has been dealt another blow after trying to obtain a touchscreen-specific patent.
Last month, we learned the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had rejected Nintendo’s patent for summoning characters and having them fight after IP lawyers criticised it in the year leading up to the judgement. More recently – as examined by Games Fray – the entertainment giant made moves to obtain a touchscreen-specific patent, seemingly targeting games such as Palworld Mobile or Roco Kingdom: World.
The new, now-rejected patent is application no. 2026-019762, a divisional of the previous one that focuses on monster-catching mechanics, but this specific application targets touchscreen devices instead. The claim language talks about “a game program executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus equipped with a touch panel” before underlining specific Pokémon-like mechanics such as using a “capture item for capturing a field character” and using those same characters to appear in the field and fight.
“The above is simply a general monster-catching rule set. There is nothing technologically innovative about it,” the Japan Patent Office (JPO) examiner concluded. According to the analysis, there’s no “inventive step” over the “prior art“: “Nintendo already amended the claims in February and can try to amend them again.”
The rejection was communicated on 24th April, 2026, and Game Fray believes this will be another uphill battle for Nintendo should it choose to “persuade the examiner to arrive at a different conclusion”.