A new development has emerged regarding Nintendo’s patents that could impact the company’s recent attempts to secure ownership of certain game mechanics—specifically, those involving a player summoning another character to fight in battle.
John Squires, the relatively new director of the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) appointed during the Trump administration, has ordered a reexamination of Nintendo’s latest patent. This patent details the mechanic of “summoning a subcharacter and letting it fight in one of two battle modes.” Squires’ decision cites earlier patents that may challenge the validity of Nintendo’s recent claim.
The reexamination order was reported by GamesFray, which outlined the details of the case and the prior patents involved. Of particular concern are two earlier patents: one granted to Konami in 2002, known by the codename “Yabe,” and another granted to Nintendo in 2020, referred to as “Taura.”
The Yabe patent describes a sub-character fighting alongside the player in either an automatic or manual mode. Similarly, Nintendo’s own Taura patent also references a sub-character who battles alongside the player, utilizing both manual and automatic controls.
John Squires highlighted that both the Yabe and Taura patents teach the use of two battle modes—manual and automatic—which directly relate to the claims made in Nintendo’s more recent patent. He stated, “Each of Yabe and Taura teaches a player being allowed to perform a battle in a manual mode and in a simpler, automatic mode. A reasonable examiner would consider each of Yabe and Taura to be important in deciding whether the claims are patentable.”
Concluding his assessment, Squires noted that “each raises a substantial new question of patentability,” thereby justifying the need for a thorough reexamination.
This development introduces uncertainty around Nintendo’s efforts to firmly establish exclusive rights over these game mechanics, as prior art may undermine their patent claims. The outcome of this reexamination will be closely watched by the gaming industry and patent observers alike.
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146667/nintendo-summon-subcharacter-patent-examination-john-squires
