The last 10 days have brought a series of patent victories for Nintendo. The company was recently granted US patent 12,409,387, which covers riding and flying systems similar to those it has been criticized for in its Palworld lawsuit. Surprisingly, a more concerning grant, US patent 12,403,397, involves summoning and battling characters and was approved with minimal resistance from the USPTO.

According to video game patent expert Kirk Sigmon, the recent approvals reflect poorly on the American patent system. Sigmon stated, “Broadly, I don’t disagree with the many online complaints about these Nintendo patents; they represent an embarrassing failure of the US patent system.”

He emphasizes that these grants could empower Nintendo to intimidate its competitors. The latest patents have sparked a debate about the competence of the USPTO, as he pointed to procedural irregularities in the decision-making processes that allowed such patents to be approved without adequate scrutiny.

In his view, these patents should not have been permitted, particularly given their implications for competition in the gaming industry. The shadow of legal threat cast by Nintendo’s recent patents can create a chilling effect on innovation, disadvantaging smaller developers and companies.