Japan’s Patent Office has again rejected Nintendo’s application for a Pokémon-style touchscreen monster-capturing system, dismissing Nintendo’s objection to a fan-made game being used as prior art. The decision matters because the filing is connected to Nintendo’s wider patent strategy around Pokémon mechanics and its legal dispute with Palworld developer Pocketpair, although it is not itself the central court case.

Nintendo argued that the cited fan game, Pokémon: Generations, should not count because it allegedly infringed Pokémon copyright. The patent examiner said that allegation was irrelevant to whether the claimed invention was sufficiently inventive, and maintained the rejection; Nintendo has three months to seek a formal appeal. The patent office’s earlier objections also cited pre-existing gameplay examples, while the application may be particularly relevant to touchscreen games.