A new development has emerged concerning Nintendo’s patents, which could impact the company’s recent attempts to claim ownership of certain game mechanics—specifically, those involving a player summoning another character to fight in battle.
John Squires, the relatively new U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) director appointed during the Trump administration, has ordered a reexamination of Nintendo’s latest patent. This patent details a system where a player can summon a sub-character and have it fight in one of two battle modes. The reexamination was prompted due to references in previous patents that might invalidate Nintendo’s recent claim.
The reexamination order, covered by GamesFray, highlights concerns that earlier patents could undermine Nintendo’s new patent. Notably, a 2002 patent known by the codename “Yabe” was granted to Konami. This patent describes a character fighting alongside the player, either automatically or manually.
Furthermore, Nintendo itself was granted a patent in 2020—referred to as the “Taura” patent—that also involves sub-characters battling alongside the main character.
John Squires pointed out that both the Yabe and Taura patents teach the concept of the player performing battles in both manual and simpler automatic modes. He stated, “A reasonable examiner would consider each of Yabe and Taura to be important in deciding whether the claims are patentable.”
Squires concluded by noting that these patents “each raise a substantial new question of patentability,” which means Nintendo’s recent patent faces significant challenges in being upheld.
This reexamination could have important implications for Nintendo’s ability to protect certain game design mechanics, especially those involving summonable sub-characters in battle scenarios. It will be worth following how this case develops in the coming months.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146667/nintendo-summon-subcharacter-patent-examination-john-squires