Nintendo’s summoning character patent takes a major hit as the USPTO rejects all 26 claims

5 April 2026
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9 min.
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Nintendo’s summoning character patent takes a major hit as the USPTO rejects all 26 claims

Summary:

Nintendo’s patent covering a system for summoning a character and using that character in battle has run into serious trouble in the United States. A recent reexamination action from the USPTO rejected all 26 claims tied to U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, a decision that has quickly become one of the most talked about legal developments connected to Nintendo and the wider conversation around Palworld. The ruling matters because this patent was widely viewed as part of the broader pressure surrounding monster-based action mechanics, even though the U.S. action itself is separate from Nintendo’s lawsuit in Japan against Pocketpair.

The key point is that the rejection is non-final. That means Nintendo has not reached the end of the road yet, but it is facing a very real setback. The USPTO concluded that the patent claims were obvious in light of earlier patents and publications, including prior material from other companies and even Nintendo’s own earlier work. In plain terms, the office found that the claimed system did not clear the novelty bar strongly enough to stand as issued.

That changes the tone around this dispute. Instead of looking like a clean example of a protected gameplay system, the patent now looks vulnerable. It also shines a bright light on the long-running debate over game mechanic patents, especially when those patents seem broad enough to cast a shadow over ideas many players and developers see as part of the medium’s shared toolbox. Nintendo still has time to respond, amend, and fight for surviving ground, but for now the momentum has shifted. What looked like a sharp legal weapon suddenly feels a lot less untouchable.

The USPTO rejection of Nintendo’s summoning character patent

Nintendo’s U.S. patent tied to summoning a character and sending it into battle has taken a serious blow after a reexamination action rejected all 26 claims connected to the patent. That is the headline, and it is a big one. The patent, numbered 12,403,397, had drawn attention because it appeared to cover a gameplay flow involving a player character, a summoned sub character, and combat that could proceed in different ways depending on the situation. Once that sort of patent enters the spotlight, people naturally start asking the same question: is this a normal protection for a specific system, or is it trying to fence off territory that has already existed in games for years? The USPTO’s current view leans heavily toward the second answer. The office found the claims obvious during reexamination, which leaves Nintendo facing a difficult response window rather than a comfortable legal win.

Why this patent drew attention around the Palworld dispute

This patent did not become a talking point in a vacuum. It picked up momentum because Nintendo’s legal conflict with Pocketpair turned every related patent into a subject of intense interest. Once Palworld entered the conversation, players, legal watchers, and developers began looking at Nintendo’s patent activity with a magnifying glass. A patent that touches on summoning characters and battling was always going to attract notice in that climate, especially because it sounded broad enough to raise eyebrows. Even so, it is important to keep the lines clear. The current U.S. patent rejection does not automatically decide Nintendo’s lawsuit in Japan, and it does not erase every legal argument Nintendo may still want to use elsewhere. What it does do is weaken the aura around one patent that many observers saw as part of a larger strategy. In legal battles, perception matters, and this is the kind of update that changes the mood in a hurry.

What the USPTO actually rejected and why all 26 claims matter

The number matters here. All 26 claims were rejected in the reexamination action, which is why the update landed with such force. When only a handful of claims fall, a patent owner can sometimes shrug, tighten things up, and move forward with a narrower shield. When every claim is rejected, the room feels smaller and the ceiling feels lower. That does not mean the patent is beyond rescue, because the ruling is non-final, but it does mean Nintendo is no longer defending a mostly intact grant. It is now defending the entire structure. That distinction is huge. Patent claims are the real engine of a patent’s value, because they define what is actually protected. If they all collapse, the patent becomes a shell without practical bite. That is why this update has been treated as more than a routine office disagreement. It goes to the heart of whether this patent can still stand in meaningful form.

Why the office called the patent obvious instead of novel

The word obvious can sound almost casual, but in patent law it hits like a hammer. The USPTO did not need to say the idea was silly or worthless. It only needed to conclude that the claimed system would have been an obvious combination or extension of what was already known from earlier patents and publications. That is a very different test from asking whether something exists in identical form. A patent can fail even when no earlier document mirrors it line for line. If the office believes a skilled person in the field could reasonably combine earlier teachings to arrive at the same result, the claim can still fall. That appears to be the core problem here. The ruling suggests the claimed combat and summoning setup was not a true leap forward. Instead, it looked like a rearrangement of concepts already sitting on the table, which is never where a patent holder wants to be.

The role of earlier patents, including Nintendo’s own prior filings

One of the most striking parts of this situation is that the prior art cited against Nintendo reportedly includes not only outside references, but also Nintendo’s own earlier patent work. That gives the whole story a slightly bitter edge. It is like tripping over your own shoes while trying to sprint across the finish line. Prior art does not care who made it. If an earlier filing already teaches important parts of the claimed idea, it can be used to show that the newer patent does not deserve the protection it received. Reports on the reexamination point to a mix of earlier patents from companies such as Konami and Bandai Namco, along with Nintendo-related material. That combination is central to why the office reached its obviousness conclusion. It was not looking at the patent in isolation. It was looking at a larger history of gameplay systems and asking whether Nintendo had really claimed something distinct enough to justify exclusive rights.

Why the decision did not require playing or reviewing games

That detail may sound strange at first, because the subject matter involves video game mechanics. Still, patent examination does not work like a game review panel. The USPTO is not judging whether a mechanic feels fun, fresh, or beautifully executed in motion. It is comparing claim language against prior art documents and legal standards. In other words, the office is reading the recipe, not tasting the dish. That is why reports say the decision was made without playing or reviewing games. To many players, that might feel cold or incomplete, but from a patent perspective it is normal. The question is whether the written claims describe something patentable over what was already disclosed, not whether the final game experience feels different in your hands. That distinction can be frustrating because games are interactive and alive in practice, yet patent law often reduces them to diagrams, claims, and technical descriptions. Welcome to the glamorous world of legal paperwork, where the boss fight is usually a stack of documents.

What non-final rejection means for Nintendo from here

Non-final rejection is not the same as the end of the road. It means the USPTO has laid down its current position, but Nintendo still has a chance to answer. According to multiple reports, Nintendo’s legal team has roughly two months to respond, and that window may be extendable under the usual procedures. The company can argue that the office misread the prior art, amend claims to narrow the patent, or try to preserve parts of the filing in a more limited form. That is why the present moment matters so much. Nintendo is not simply looking backward at a rejected set of claims. It is now deciding whether to fight, reshape, or potentially let the patent slip further toward final loss. In patent disputes, timing matters almost as much as substance. A strong response can change the direction of a case. A weak one can turn a setback into a lasting defeat.

The immediate temptation is to say this ruins Nintendo’s larger case, but that would go too far. Legal disputes involving patents rarely rest on a single pillar. Even so, this development clearly hurts the image of Nintendo’s broader patent posture. When one of the more talked-about patents tied to summoning and battling gets all of its claims rejected in reexamination, critics gain an opening and supporters lose a talking point. It suggests that at least some of the claimed territory may have been more fragile than it first appeared. That does not automatically rewrite the Japanese case or erase other patents Nintendo may still rely on. It does, however, strengthen the argument from skeptics who believe broad game mechanic patents can overreach. From a public-facing perspective, Nintendo now looks less like a company defending an unshakable invention and more like a company being forced to justify why this particular patent should ever have stood in the first place.

Why game mechanic patents remain so controversial in the industry

Game mechanic patents have long been a lightning rod because they sit at the awkward intersection of innovation and ownership. Developers absolutely create clever systems worth protecting, but games are also built through iteration. One idea inspires another, and progress often comes from tuning familiar elements into something more polished, more surprising, or more elegant. That is why many people get uneasy when a company appears to claim exclusive rights over a mechanic that feels close to shared design language. The Nintendo patent dispute taps directly into that tension. Supporters of strong patent protection argue that companies need incentives to invest in novel systems. Critics counter that broad patents can chill creativity by making studios nervous about building around concepts that feel fundamental to the medium. Both sides have a point, which is why these fights never stay quiet for long. The minute a patent sounds wider than a single narrow implementation, the whole industry starts arguing like it just found a banana peel on the courtroom floor.

What this ruling could mean for future patent battles in gaming

This ruling may not rewrite the industry overnight, but it could become an important reference point in how future gaming patent disputes are discussed. A non-final rejection of all 26 claims sends a message that even a granted patent can face heavy scrutiny if the office later concludes the claimed system overlaps too much with earlier work. That matters for big publishers, smaller studios, and legal teams watching from the sidelines. It reinforces the idea that patents built around gameplay systems need very careful claim drafting and a strong distance from prior art if they are going to survive pressure. For developers and players, it also adds fuel to a broader belief that common-feeling mechanics should not be locked down too aggressively. Nintendo still has a chance to respond, and the story is not fully written yet. For now, though, the balance has shifted. The patent that once looked like a sharp legal edge is now under a cloud, and the next move belongs to Nintendo.

Conclusion

Nintendo’s summoning character patent is now in a far weaker position than it appeared to be when it was granted. The USPTO’s reexamination action rejected all 26 claims and framed the claimed system as obvious in light of earlier patents, including material linked to Nintendo itself. That does not make the matter final, and Nintendo still has room to respond, amend, and push back. Even so, this is a significant legal setback that changes the tone of the conversation around the patent and its possible role in the wider Palworld debate. More than anything, the ruling reminds everyone how fragile game mechanic patents can become once prior art is put under a bright enough light. For now, Nintendo is not standing on firm ground here. It is standing on a floor that has started to crack, and the next filing will decide how much of it remains intact.

FAQs
  • Did the USPTO fully and finally cancel Nintendo’s patent?
    • No. The rejection is currently non-final, which means all 26 claims were rejected in the reexamination action, but Nintendo still has a chance to respond and try to defend or amend the patent.
  • Which patent is at the center of this dispute?
    • The reports point to U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, which describes a gameplay system involving summoning a sub character and using that character in battle under different control conditions.
  • Why did the USPTO reject the claims?
    • The office found the claims obvious based on prior art. In patent terms, that means the claimed system was viewed as too close to combinations of earlier disclosed ideas rather than a sufficiently distinct invention.
  • Does this decide Nintendo’s lawsuit against Pocketpair?
    • No. This U.S. patent development does not automatically determine the outcome of Nintendo’s legal dispute in Japan. It does, however, affect how one closely watched patent is viewed.
  • Why is this update getting so much attention from players and developers?
    • Because it touches on a bigger issue than one patent. It feeds into the ongoing argument over whether broad gameplay mechanics should be patentable at all, especially when similar ideas have appeared across the industry for years.
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