美國專利及商標局駁回任天堂的部份專利申請

根據 Eurogamer、GameIndustry.biz 和 PC Gamer 等多家媒體報導，與《PALWORLD》相關的訴訟資訊顯示，任天堂在美國申請的部分專利遭到美國專利商標局（USPTO）的拒絕。這些專利原本已在日本取得，但在今年 7 月被美國拒絕。

被拒的專利包括申請號 18/652,874「US-App-3」以及申請號 18/652,883「US-App-4」，均於今年 5 月提交申請，並在 7 月 19 日和 7 月 31 日分別收到拒絕通知（※這並非最終拒絕，因此任天堂仍有機會修改申請內容以重新提交）。

US-App-3 專利的描述大致為「在虛擬空間內向角色投擲捕捉用物品，若擊中角色則進行成功判定，成功後便可將該角色據為己有。此外，還包含向瞄準方向投擲戰鬥角色，並與場上角色進行戰鬥的機制」。美國專利商標局拒絕了此專利，理由是「缺乏主題適格性」，也就是申請內容過於抽象，或者涉及自然法則等不屬於專利保護範圍的元素。

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a game program that when executed by a computer of an information processing apparatus, causes the computer to perform operations comprising:

based on a received direction input, determining an aiming direction in a virtual space; and

in a first mode,
causing a player character to launch, in the aiming direction, a catching item for catching the field character disposed on a field in the virtual space, based on an operation input, and when the catching item launched hits the field character, performing successful-catch determination relating to whether or not the catching is successful; and
when the result of the successful-catch determination is positive, setting the field character hit by the catching item in a player’s possession, and

in a second mode,
causing the player character to launch, in the aiming direction, a fighting character, and causing the field character and the fighting character to start fighting against each other on the field.

US-App-4 專利的內容則是「在虛擬空間內，玩家可以選擇自己的角色進行騎乘，並且在搭乘狀態下進行其他操作，以使角色進行空中移動，進一步操作還可持續讓角色在空中移動」。該專利被拒絕的理由是「缺乏進步性」，也就是所描述的技術過於顯而易見，任何專業人員都能輕易想到，因此不具備專利的創新要求。

1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored therein a game program causing a computer of an information processing apparatus to provide execution comprising:

controlling a player character in a virtual space based on a first operation input;
in association with selecting, based on a selection operation, a boarding object that the player character can board and providing a boarding instruction, causing the player character to board the boarding object and bringing the player character into a state where the player character can move, wherein the boarding object is selected among a plurality of types of objects that the player character owns;

in association with providing a second operation input when the player character is in the air, causing the player character to board an air boarding object and bringing the player character into a state where the player character can move in the air; and

while the player character is aboard the air boarding object, moving the player character, aboard the air boarding object, in the air based on a third operation input.

這兩項專利的提交使用了專利審查加速計劃「Track One」，申請者需要支付額外手續費以加快審核進度。GameIndustry.biz 認為，這些專利申請可能是針對《PALWORLD》而提交的，暗示任天堂有可能準備以專利權侵權為由對該遊戲提出訴訟。

目前，任天堂有權在 10 月 19 日及 10 月 31 日之前修改這兩項專利的申請內容。如果修改後通過審查，這些專利便可在美國獲得批准。

另一方面，任天堂在美國還擁有一些已獲批准的專利，例如申請號 17/949,666「US-App-1」和申請號 17/949,831「US-App-2」。這些專利比《PALWORLD》上市時間早得多，於 2022 年申請，並被認為在對《PALWORLD》的訴訟中具有利用價值。

參考資料

Nintendo’s patents were designed to take on Palworld | Opinion

【パルワールド訴訟関連】米国では任天堂の一部特許出願が7月に拒絶されていた。米国での訴訟も視野か？