The United States Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) has issued a non-final decision revoking a patent previously granted to Nintendo. The patent, which originally passed in September of last year, covered a gameplay mechanic involving the summoning of characters to fight on a player's behalf.
Director-Ordered Re-examination
This reversal stems from a rare intervention by USPTO director John A. Squires, who personally ordered a re-examination of the patent just two months after it was granted. This marked the first time since 2012 that a director initiated such a review without an external company request. The director cited substantial new questions regarding patentability based on earlier filings.
Reliance on Prior Art
In its recent ruling, the USPTO rejected all 26 claims within Nintendo's patent. The office determined that the concept of a "sub-character" fighting alongside a player—either automatically or via manual control—was already covered by existing patents. Specifically, the decision relied on prior art from Konami (dated 2002), Bandai Namco (dated 2020), and earlier Nintendo patents from 2020 and 2022.
According to the report by Games Fray, the USPTO concluded that combining these existing patents rendered Nintendo's new claims invalid. While the patent was likely filed with franchises like Pokémon or Pikmin in mind, its scope was broad enough to cause concern across the industry regarding potential litigation.
Future Implications
Nintendo has a two-month window to respond to the non-final decision, with the option to request an extension. Should the company disagree with the final outcome, an appeal can be made to the Federal Circuit. Legal analysts suggest Nintendo may attempt to salvage parts of the patent by arguing that developers would not logically combine the specific prior art references cited by the USPTO.
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