Is Pokemon suing Palworld? Everything we know from Nintendo’s press release

Is Pokemon suing Palworld? A social media firestorm of criticism has been leveled against Palworld, Pocketpair's Early Access survival game that features a heavy dose of creature collecting for the design of its titular "Pals." Many have claimed that Palworld has blatantly ripped off the design of Pocket Monsters, and on January 25, 2024, Nintendo/TPC released a statement addressing the controversy:

"We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024. We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future." - The Pokemon Company, January 25, 2024

As a result, many have been wondering if Nintendo can litigate for copyright infringement or if the Palworld developers can avoid a lawsuit with The Pokemon Company.

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What we know about The Pokemon Company's legal investigations of Palworld and Pocketpair

Palworld's massive sales likely caught the attention of Nintendo (Image via Pocketpair)

With over eight million copies sold in the first week since its Early Access release, Palworld has become an overnight success across the Xbox and PC platforms. However, the similarity of Pal and Pokemon designs has led to individuals calling out Pocketpair's survival game for "ripping off" the art of Game Freak. Some have even called for boycotts of Palworld.

Others have pointed to Pocketpair's use of generative AI technology in its game "AI: Art Imposter," which has been criticized for quite some time by artists and creators for using their work in its machine learning models without consent. However, many Palworld players have fired back with defenses of Pocketpair's title, stating that it's different enough to not incur copyright action.

In its January 25 press release, The Pokemon Company stated that it will investigate any use of its IP in Palworld. This is something that has been invoked to cease the development of countless fan games over the years, but can it apply to Pocketpair and Palworld? The legal standing for Nintendo is a bit murky, and proof of plagiarism would likely need to be firmly established.

While The Pokemon Company has certainly cornered the market on the creature collector genre, many other games have taken up the archetype. Games similar to Pokemon, like Cassette Beasts and TemTem, have taken clear inspiration from the iconic franchise, while others (like those in the Megami Tensei series) have allowed players to collect creatures in the form of demons since 1987.

While The Pokemon Company can trademark Pocket Monsters' names and characters, it can't claim the same for a specific art style or in-game mechanics. This is part of the reason why many artists have created "Fakemon," or Pocket Monsters of their design utilizing a similar art style to those seen in Game Freak's game series. This is also how games like Cassette Beasts/TemTem can exist.

Some Pal designs have had substantial parallels drawn to existing Pokemon (Image via Pocketpair/The Pokemon Company)

While The Pokemon Company can step in and sue if a creature's entire design is copied into another work, the plausibility of prosecuting a work that is considered derivative is another story. While some works of art have been targeted for legal action for being derivative in the past, the line between what is derivative and what isn't is a nebulous area.

In May 2012, a lawsuit was filed between Tetris Holding and the developer Xio Interactive for the latter's game, Mino, which was very similar to Tetris in terms of both visuals and gameplay. The courts ruled in favor of Tetris' case for copyright infringement, with Judge Freda Wolfson stating in her verdict :

"If one has to squint to find distinctions only at a granular level, then the works are likely to be substantially similar." - Tetris vs Xio, May 30, 2012

This verdict has often been referred to as the "squint test," but how does this apply to Pokemon and Palworld? Put plainly, Palworld doesn't appear to use the names of Pocket Monsters on its surface, it features different gameplay elements, and the art style, while similar, is still far away from copying the work of Game Freak's artists.

Because of these aspects, players are unlikely to confuse Pokemon and Palworld since they are easy to tell apart upon a cursory glance. Because of Palworld's gameplay differences and because players can clearly distinguish creatures from the two franchises, the path to claiming copyright infringement will likely be a difficult one.

However, there's one major stipulation to consider, which comes in the form of in-game assets. Palworld utilizes Unreal Engine 5, and some have pointed out that the assets used within the engine for Pocketpair's game are similar to those of Game Freak's 3D models/meshes seen in games like Sword and Shield, Legends: Arceus, and Scarlet and Violet.

There's a reason The Pokemon Company was quite deliberate in stating that it is investigating the matter as opposed to litigating outright. Nintendo, Game Freak, etc. would need to find evidence that Pocketpair used copyrighted assets, designs, models, or names within Palworld. It's unclear as to whether this will occur, but if Pocketpair did indeed use copyrighted assets, Nintendo could pursue litigation.

For the time being, all that can be done by fans of both games is to keep tabs on the situation. None of us are legal experts in copyright law, but for the time being, Palworld seems far enough removed from the Pocket Monster franchise to avoid any legal trouble. This could certainly change, but the situation is still in its early stages, and new information may unravel in due time.