I don’t disagree with that, but the line that is drawn between inspiration and imitation is blurred and the courts will probably rule in favor of those with the most money, unfortunately.
Nope, because Nintendo arent suing over copyright (like how the pals look) they are suing over patents, so either gameplay mechanics or under the hood processes. They are complete bullshit and involve things like a patent filed in 2024 for riding a mount in a game.
As others have pointed out patents in Japan expire after 20 years so it cant be anything that was in the original pokemon as that has already termed out.
What about the dynamic of capturing wild monsters from all different biomes in a ball? Isn’t that relatively close Pokemon? Game play is different, but the dynamics are similar.
I think Nintendo’s lawyers must have determined it’s inspiration in this case though. Like you said, they’re suing for patent infringement and not copyright, so they must think a legal challenge on their creature designs is a lost cause.
