US Patent Office makes rare decision to order “reexamination” of previously awarded Nintendo patent

The head of the U.S. Patent Office is reexamining a decision to award Nintendo a patent that protects a common gameplay mechanic wherein an in-game character summons another sub-character to support it in battle in one of two battle modes.

The shocking decision does not necessarily mean the award will be revoked immediately, but does intimate that USPTO director, John A. Squires, has concerns about U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397, which may well result in its eventual revocation.

Last week, we reported that Nintendo had been denied a patent application that would’ve allowed it to own the mechanic of capturing a character or creature in a game, such as that found in Pokémon games, but the previous month, it had successfully secured a new patent in the U.S. that protects a common gameplay mechanic wherein an in-game character can summon another sub-character to support it in battle in one of two battle modes.

As Games Fray explains, the Ex Parte Reexamination appears to be, in part, in reference to two prior patents: one filed by Konami in 2002 and another by Nintendo itself in 2019, either of which could provide “prior art references” that negate Nintendo’s latest claim to the patent.

Nintendo has two months to respond to the order, along with any other third parties wishing to contest the patent award. It is exceedingly rare for a USPTO director to order such reexamination.

Nintendo filed a lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair for infringing “multiple patent rights” back in September 2024. At the time, Nintendo was seeking “an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld, a game developed and released by the defendant, infringes multiple patent rights.” It recently argued that mods should not count as “prior art.”

If the USPTO does overturn Nintendo’s patent claim, this could ultimately undermine the credibility of its copyright lawsuit against Pocketpair.

Earlier today, Nintendo released its financial results for the six months ended September 30, reporting major increases in hardware and software sales following the Switch 2 launch.

Sales of the new console reached 10.36 million units, more than double what the original Switch achieved during the same launch period. For the first half of its fiscal year, Nintendo reported a 110% jump in net sales and a 19.5% rise in operating profits, resulting in an upward revision of its full-year expectations.