Nintendo has encountered a significant hurdle in its attempt to secure a patent for specific monster-catching game mechanics. The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has rejected the application, citing an unofficial 2013 fan game as evidence that the proposed systems were not sufficiently original.

Quick Facts

  • Application Number: 2026-019762
  • Priority Date: December 2021
  • Cited Evidence: 2013 Pokemon Generations gameplay video
  • Current Status: Application rejected; 3-month window for appeal remains

The patent application in question aimed to cover a touchscreen-based system where players navigate a 3D environment, summon monsters for combat, and throw capture items at creatures. The JPO examiner determined that these mechanics lacked an “inventive step” because similar systems were already in use or publicly documented years prior to Nintendo’s December 2021 filing.

A key piece of evidence used in the rejection was a June 2013 YouTube video titled “Pokemon Generations – 3D Indie Pokemon Gameplay.” The footage from this fan-made project demonstrated real-time 3D movement and monster-capturing mechanics more than eight years before Nintendo submitted its application. Nintendo attempted to argue that the video should be disqualified as prior art due to the project’s unauthorized use of the Pokemon intellectual property. The examiner dismissed this defense, ruling that the copyright status of the project did not negate the fact that the mechanics were publicly viewable in the footage.

Other materials cited by the examiner included gameplay from Pokemon X and Y, PUBG Mobile, ARK Mobile, and various older Japanese patent filings. The examiner concluded that the combination of touchscreen controls and creature-catching systems proposed by Nintendo was something a developer could have reasonably created using existing technology.

This application, numbered 2026-019762, had previously been rejected in April 2026. Nintendo amended its claims at that time, but the follow-up attempt was also unsuccessful. While this filing is part of the same patent family Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are currently using in their ongoing legal dispute with Palworld developer Pocketpair, this specific application is not directly involved in that lawsuit.

Speculation suggests the touchscreen-focused patent could have been intended for future mobile titles, such as Palworld Mobile. Nintendo now has three months to appeal the decision to a JPO panel or attempt to file a new application with narrower, more specific claims.