In which court did Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sue Pocketpair?

Nintendo and The Pokémon Company sued Pocketpair in the Tokyo District Court.

The companies filed their patent-infringement lawsuit on September 18, 2024, and announced it publicly the following day. The defendant was Pocketpair, the Tokyo-based studio that developed and released Palworld. The case sought an injunction against alleged infringement and compensation for damages.

The Tokyo District Court is a trial-level court in Japan’s capital. It is not the Tokyo High Court, which generally hears appeals and certain other matters. Kyoto District Court and Osaka District Court were also not the court named in the companies’ announcement, even though Nintendo’s headquarters are in Kyoto and Osaka is another major Japanese legal center.

The filing concerned patent rights connected to Palworld’s gameplay, according to the plaintiffs’ announcement. It was not a criminal prosecution or a lawsuit filed in a United States court. Identifying the court is therefore important: the case was brought in Japan, specifically before the Tokyo District Court.