US Patent Office is reviewing Nintendo’s patent on a battle support summon mechanic

• Earlier Konami and Nintendo filings may be used as prior art against the patent.
• Nintendo has two months to respond, with third parties able to contest the patent.
• Japan recently rejected Nintendo’s attempt to patent a creature-capture mechanic.

The US Patent Office is reviewing a Nintendo patent that covers a common mechanic where a character can summon a supporting sub-character during battles.

As reported by Games Fray, the reexamination is partly based on earlier Konami (2002) and Nintendo (2019) patents that may count as prior art and undermine Nintendo’s current claim.

The review hasn’t yet revoked the patent, but it shows that the USPTO has concerns that could lead to the patent's reversal.

Nintendo now has two months to respond, and other parties may also contest the patent. 

Ongoing patent disputes

This new development comes after a series of recent patent disputes involving Nintendo. 

Earlier this month, Japan’s Patent Office rejected the company’s attempt to patent a creature-capturing mechanic similar to Pokémon after prior art was submitted showing the idea wasn’t new. 

Last month, Nintendo secured a US patent for a mechanic in which characters summon support units in battle. 

And earlier this year, Pocketpair challenged Nintendo’s legal claims in Japan, arguing that features like creature capture, riding, and AI behaviour existed in other games before Nintendo filed its patents.