The US Patent and Trademark Office has invalidated all 26 claims in Nintendo's patent covering the mechanic of summoning characters to battle—a fundamental gameplay element in Pokémon, Pikmin, and countless other games. The decision could reshape how gaming intellectual property works and whether companies can patent basic interactive concepts.
The patent, granted in September 2025, protected "the action of summoning another character and making them battle on the player's behalf." But the USPTO found the claims obvious based on prior art—including a 2002 Konami patent and even Nintendo's own earlier patents from 2020 and 2022.
What makes this particularly notable is that USPTO Director John A. Squires personally ordered the re-examination in November—the first time since 2012 that a USPTO director had done so. That kind of direct intervention signals the office recognized this patent might be overclaiming ownership of game mechanics that have existed for decades.
The timing is also significant. Nintendo is currently suing Palworld developer Pocketpair over alleged patent infringement related to creature-catching mechanics. While this revocation doesn't directly affect that lawsuit (which is proceeding independently), it weakens Nintendo's broader patent position on summoning mechanics.
This is still a non-final rejection—Nintendo has two months to respond or appeal to the Federal Circuit. Even a single valid claim could allow future enforcement actions. But the USPTO's reasoning is thorough, citing multiple prior patents that demonstrate the mechanic wasn't novel when Nintendo filed for protection.
Online commenters in the gaming community have pointed out the irony: Nintendo has long argued for strong IP protection, but this case shows the limits of trying to own fundamental game design patterns. As one developer noted, if summoning characters to fight could be patented, what's next—patenting jumping in platformers?
