The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a non-final rejection covering all 26 claims tied to Nintendo’s character-summoning patent (no. 12,403,397).
The patent, originally granted in September 2025, entered re-examination following a Director-ordered review in November 2025. With this latest development, Nintendo now has a limited window of two months to appeal the decision. If no appeal is filed, the patent risks full revocation.
Prior Art Challenges Core Claims
According to the ruling, the USPTO cited four separate prior-art references as the basis for rejecting Nintendo’s claims. These references describe gameplay systems where characters are summoned to assist players in combat—mechanics that are not considered sufficiently novel under current patent standards.
This aligns with earlier scrutiny from the Japan Patent Office, which previously rejected a related Nintendo application in October 2025. That decision leaned on existing video games such as Monster Hunter 4 and ARK: Survival Evolved as evidence that similar mechanics already existed before Nintendo’s filing date in December 2021.
What This Means for Nintendo
While the rejection is not final, it signals growing skepticism from regulators regarding the originality of the claimed mechanic. The USPTO’s position suggests that combining known gameplay elements—even in a refined or polished form—may not meet the threshold required for patent protection.
Nintendo may still attempt to defend its claims by arguing that:
- The cited references are patents rather than fully realized games
- No single prior work combines all elements in the same way
However, the success of such arguments remains uncertain.
Broader Impact on the Industry
This development weakens Nintendo’s potential leverage in disputes involving creature-based or companion combat systems. While it is unclear whether this specific patent directly ties into ongoing legal discussions around games like Palworld, the overlap in mechanics keeps the conversation closely connected.
For now, the decision has no immediate effect on the market. Titles that rely on similar systems—including upcoming projects and existing franchises—remain unaffected as legal proceedings continue.
What Happens Next
The case now enters a critical phase. Nintendo must decide whether to appeal the rejection or risk losing the patent entirely.
Until a final ruling is issued, the situation remains unresolved—but it clearly highlights a larger issue within the gaming industry: defining ownership over gameplay mechanics that may already be widely established.
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