A new development has emerged regarding Nintendo’s patents that could impact the company’s recent attempts to claim ownership over game mechanics involving a player summoning another character in battle.
John Squires, the relatively new US Patent Office (USPTO) director appointed during the Trump administration, has ordered a reexamination of Nintendo’s latest patent. The patent in question details the mechanic of “summoning a subcharacter and letting it fight in one of two battle modes.” Squires’ order cites previous patents that may challenge the validity of this newer patent.
The reexamination order was reported by GamesFray, which provided insight into the specifics of the review and the patents involved. Of particular concern to Squires are earlier patents that potentially render Nintendo’s recent claims invalid.
One such patent is the 2002 “Yabe” patent, granted to Konami. This patent references a character fighting alongside the player, both automatically and manually. Additionally, Nintendo’s own “Taura” patent, granted in 2020, also involves sub-characters battling alongside the player.
Squires noted that both Yabe and Taura teach a player being allowed to engage in battle using either a manual mode or a simpler, automatic mode. He stated that “a reasonable examiner would consider each of Yabe and Taura to be important in deciding whether the claims are patentable.”
Ultimately, Squires concluded that these patents “each raise a substantial new question of patentability,” casting doubt on the strength of Nintendo’s recent patent claims. This reexamination could have significant implications for Nintendo’s efforts to protect its game mechanics through patent law.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146667/nintendo-summon-subcharacter-patent-examination-john-squires