A Nintendo patent lawsuit that was once seen as a major threat to the popular survival-building game "Pallu" may no longer pose a substantial risk to developer Pocketpair. According to recently disclosed court documents and case trial schedules, this high-profile patent dispute has taken a significant turn.
In September 2024, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company jointly filed a lawsuit against Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court of Japan, accusing "Eidolon Pallu" of infringing on a number of patents jointly held by both parties, involving the game system of capturing virtual creatures and switching rideable mounts midway. The plaintiff had requested an end to the infringement and sought damages.
However, according to the latest public records disclosed by Games Fray, Nintendo and The Pokémon Company revised their claims in November 2025. This modification has greatly limited the actual scope of the case, narrowing the target of the accusation to the old version of "Eidolon Parlu" before the end of 2024 and mid-2025. It is worth noting that Pocketpair has proactively made two key updates to the game after the lawsuit was filed to avoid patent disputes.
Patent analyst Florian Müller pointed out that the revised claim makes it impossible for Nintendo to seek meaningful injunctive relief against the current version of "Phantom Pallu" on all platforms. This means that the lawsuit no longer poses a threat to the official version of "Eudemons Pallu" 1.0, which is scheduled to be released on July 10, 2026.
The case is still pending. The Tokyo District Court is scheduled to hold an evidence hearing on October 1, 2026, at which time both parties will present evidence. The court is expected to express its preliminary opinion on November 9 of the same year, at which time the outside world will be able to more clearly judge how much room Nintendo's litigation claims have to survive.
According to the revised lawsuit at the end of 2025, even if Nintendo and the Pokémon Company ultimately win the lawsuit, their actual benefits will be extremely limited. Nintendo previously claimed 5 million yen (approximately US$31,000) from Pocketpair for patent infringement, while The Pokémon Company separately claimed the same amount.
Since the case now only targets older versions of the game, it is no longer possible to obtain an injunction with actual impact. The maximum value of the dispute is only 10 million yen (approximately $62,000) plus interest.