Nintendo’s patent on summoning fighting NPCs is being reexamined

Nintendo’s lawsuit against Palworld just hit a snag. The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ordered a reexamination of a key Nintendo patent expected to be wielded in the case. Games Fray reports that the office is reviewing the Switch maker’s patent regarding “summon subcharacter and let it fight in 1 of 2 modes.” If we view Nintendo’s Palworld lawsuit as a test bed for monopolizing game mechanics, the development can only be seen as a good thing.

Several factors make the reexamination unusual….