Patenting Play: Analyzing Recent Video Game Play Patents

Introduction:

The video game industry is a dynamic space that encourages innovation, with game developers often creating and employing novel technology and game design elements.This is a quickly growing industry: in 2024, Straits Research valued the gaming industry at approximately $221.24 billion and projected the industry to reach $424.23 billion by 2033.¹ As a result, gaming companies are constantly looking to protect their innovations in this space with intellectual property protections that can strengthen the company's market position and protect its most prized assets.

Patenting video games is as old as the genre itself. In April 1977, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") issued Patent 3,728,480 for a ping-pong style game, in what a District Court judge would later go on to call "the pioneer patent in this art."² Ever since companies have been patenting gameplay elements, controversy from video game enthusiasts has followed, as some claim that such patents are overly broad or stifle innovation. Notable historical examples include Namco Ltd's U.S. Patent 5,718,632, which covered loading playable "auxiliary" games during the loading screen for the "main-game program," and Sega Enterprises Ltd's U.S. Patent 6,200,138, which covered handling collisions in virtual spaces and an arrow navigation system for virtual spaces.³ Some in the gaming industry claim that the '632 Patent practically ended the practice of developers putting interactive features in gaming loading screens for decades,⁴ while the '138 Patent famously led to Sega's lawsuit against the Simpson's Hit & Run game in 2003, which the parties settled in 2004.⁵

Recent patents on gameplay elements by a variety of gaming companies, including Nintendo and Electronic Arts (EA), have brought renewed attention and scrutiny to this space, as companies aim to balance strong intellectual property protections with potential public reactions.

Nintendo:

Over the past year, Nintendo has expanded its U.S. patent portfolio with the issuance of a numerous patents related to gameplay mechanics commonly associated with its Pokémon franchise. These include U.S. Patent Nos. 12,179,111 and 12,220,638 (the "catch" patents); 12,246,255 and 12,409,387 (the "ride" patents), and12,403,397 (the "summon" patent). The patents largely cover three key game mechanics. The '111 and '638 Patents cover catching field characters by launching a particular item and deploying fighting characters.⁶ The '255 and '387 Patents cover allowing the player character to automatically switch between rideable objects depending on the selection of the character's environment.⁷ Finally, the '397 Patent covers summoning characters to fight in either an input-driven battle or an automatic battle depending on the position of the enemy.⁸

For the '111, '638, and '387 Patents, Nintendo utilized the USPTO's "Track One" prioritized examination program, which to allow applicants to receive a final disposition within twelve months of filing, for an additional fee.⁹ This strategic use of the Track One program enabled Nintendo to file the '111, '638, and '387 Patents in 2024, and receive issuances for those patents by 2025.¹⁰ This is particularly notable given that the'111, '638, and '387 Patents (along with the '255 Patent) all claim priority to patents asserted in Nintendo's ongoing litigation efforts in Japan against Pocketpair, the developer of Palworld, a monster-taming game in the same genre as Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.¹¹ Further, the '111, '638, and '387 Patents were filed after Nintendo initiated its suit against Pocketpair.¹²

In addition to the granted patents, Nintendo has filed continuation applications claiming priority to the '111 and '378 Patents.¹³ This approach allows the company to maintain flexibility in claim scope and prosecution strategy during their ongoing litigation, especially in an industry with competitive dynamics and rapidly evolving technologies. The combination of accelerated examination and continuation practice suggests a forward-looking IP strategy as Nintendo appears to strengthen its patent protections in the US and position itself to assert its rights more effectively in the US markets.

Nintendo's recent patents cover core gameplay elements of the monster-taming game genre, and the scope of these patents concerns some gaming enthusiasts and industry professionals,¹⁴ particularly given the relatively short prosecution histories and quick issuance of these patents. The '397 Patent in particular has attracted attention for the lack of any rejections from the USPTO prior to allowance and for covering the relatively broad game mechanic of summoning characters to fight in one of two battle modes.¹⁵ Such concerns are not just limited to the gaming industry, as the '397 Patent has now attracted scrutiny from USPTO Director John Squires.

On November 3, 2025, Director Squires personally initiated an ex-parte reexamination of the Nintendo's '397 Patent, which covers summoning characters to fight in either an input-driven or automatic battle depending on the relative position of the enemy.¹⁶ An ex-parte reexamination is a process that allows any party to ask the USPTO to reassess the validity of an issued patent based on prior art patents and printed publications.¹⁷ Reexaminations ordered at the USPTO Director's initiative are exceedingly rare, as stated in Section 2239 of the Manual for Patent Examination Procedure.¹⁸ And according to Law360, the last known use of a director-ordered reexamination was over 20 years ago in 2003, when then-USPTO director James Rogan mandated review of NTP Inc.'s patents being asserted against BlackBerry.¹⁹

Director Squires' reexamination order points to Konami's US 2002/0119811 patent publication ("Yabe") and Nintendo's own US 2020/0254335 patent publication ("Taura") as prior art "rais[ing] a substantial new question of patentability."²⁰ The reexamination order further explains that although the '397 Patent's allowance claimed that the prior art failed to teach allowing players to perform two types of battles: one with player inputs and second simpler mode, "each of Yabe and Taura teaches a player being allowed to perform a battle in a manual mode and in a simpler automatic mode.²¹

A director-ordered reexamination does not necessarily indicate that the patent will be invalidated, and the industry will likely be watching the reexamination of the '397 Patent as the first legal test of Nintendo's new U.S. patents.

Electronic Arts:

Nintendo is far from the only gaming company expanding its patent portfolio in recent years. EA has also attracted attention for its patent protections for its gameplay mechanics. EA's recent patents cover a number of gameplay mechanics, such as U.S. Patent No. 11,648,472, which covers an intent-based action selection system where players indicate their intended outcome, rather than selecting a multitude of individual actions.²² However, the most visible part of EA's patent portfolio relates to its Accessibility Patent Pledge.

Started in August 2021, EA's Accessibility Patent Pledge grants royalty-free licenses to patents designed to reduce barriers for players with disabilities, including patents covering adaptive difficulty and visual assistance systems.²³ While the pledge initially began with five patents, EA has added 23 patents to the pledge over the past year.²⁴ However, this pledge also contains a defensive termination clause, stating: "EA reserves the right to terminate this pledge for a specific party or its affiliates going forward if that party files a patent infringement lawsuit or other patent proceeding against EA, its affiliates, or partners."²⁵ Such a clause allows EA to use this pledge as a potential shield and sword against patent infringement lawsuits.

By combining traditional patent strategies with accessible licensing initiatives, EA's game play-related patents strengthen EA's intellectual property protection while also advocating for accessibility.

As the gaming industry continues to grow and evolve, patenting gameplay mechanics will remain a complex and contested area of intellectual property law. Recent activity by companies like Nintendo and EA illustrates both the opportunities and challenges inherent in protecting interactive systems that define player experience.

Footnotes

1 Straits Research, Global Gaming Market Size to Hit USD 424.23 Billion by 2033, GlobeNewswire News Room (Oct. 8, 2024) https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/10/08/2960033/0/en/Global-Gaming-Market-Size-to-Hit-USD-424-23-Billion-by-2033-Straits-Research.html.

2 Magnavox Co. v. Chicago Dynamic Indus., No. 74 C 1030, 1977 WL 22731, at *1 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 10, 1977).

3 U.S. Patent No. 5,718,632 (filed November 27, 1995) (issued February 17, 1998); U.S. Patent No. 6,200,138 (filed October 30, 1998) (issued March 13, 2001).

4 Hoppe, David, 2015: The Year We Get Loading Screen Mini-Games Back, Game Developer (Jan. 9, 2015) https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/2015-the-year-we-get-loading-screen-mini-games-back

5 Sega of America, Inc. et al v. Fox Interactive et al, 4-03-cv-05468 (N.D. Cal, 2003).

6 U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111 (filed May 5, 2024) (issued December 31, 2024); U.S. Patent No. 12,220,638 (filed July 7, 2024) (issued February 11, 2025).

7 U.S. Patent No. 12,246,255 (filed September 21, 2022) (issued March 11, 2025); U.S. Patent No. 12,409,387 (filed May 2, 2024) (issued September 9, 2025).

8 U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397 (filed March 1, 2023) (issued September 2, 2025).

9 USPTO's Prioritized Patent Examination Program, United States Patent and Trademark Office (July 8, 2025) https://www.uspto.gov/patents/initiatives/usptos-prioritized-patent-examination-program; U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111 (filed May 5, 2024) (issued December 31, 2024); U.S. Patent No. 12,220,638 (filed July 7, 2024) (issued February 11, 2025); U.S. Patent No. 12,409,387 (filed May 2, 2024) (issued September 9, 2025).

10 U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111 (filed May 5, 2024) (issued December 31, 2024); U.S. Patent No. 12,220,638 (filed July 7, 2024) (issued February 11, 2025); U.S. Patent No. 12,409,387 (filed May 2, 2024) (issued September 9, 2025).

11 See Barber, Reid and Wright III, John H, Gotta Catch 'Em All . . . In Court?: Nintendo Bolsters U.S. Patent Portfolio In Wake of Japanese Lawsuit Against Pocketpair, Womble Bond Dickinson (September 11, 2025) https://www.womblebonddickinson.com/us/insights/alerts/gotta-catch-em-all-court-nintendo-bolsters-us-patent-portfolio-wake-japanese\

12 U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111 (filed May 5, 2024) (issued December 31, 2024); U.S. Patent No. 12,220,638 (filed July 7, 2024) (issued February 11, 2025); U.S. Patent No. 12,409,387 (filed May 2, 2024) (issued September 9, 2025).

13 U.S. Patent No. 12,179,111 (filed May 5, 2024) (issued December 31, 2024); U.S. Patent No. 12,409,387 (filed May 2, 2024) (issued September 9, 2025).

14 See e.g. Carpenter, Lincoln 'An embarrassing failure of the US patent system': Videogame IP lawyer says Nintendo's latest patents on Pokémon mechanics 'should not have happened, full stop' PC Gamer (Sept. 10, 2025) https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/an-embarrassing-failure-of-the-us-patent-system-videogame-ip-lawyer-says-nintendos-latest-patents-on-pokemon-mechanics-should-not-have-happened-full-stop/

15 U.S. Patent No. 12,403,397 (filed March 1, 2023) (issued September 2, 2025).

16 Id.

17 MPEP § 2209.

18 MPEP § 2239 ("A decision to order reexamination at the Director's initiative is, however, rare").

19 Kass, Dani, Squires' Revival Of Long-Dormant Reexam Frustrates Attys Law360 (Nov. 5, 2025) https://www.law360.com/ip/articles/2407064?nl_pk=05ab36df-f697-4abf-90e9-be7f85ee275e&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ip&utm_content=2025-11-06&read_main=1&nlsidx=0&nlaidx=0

20 Director Initiated Order for Ex-Parte Reexamination, US Patent No. 12,403,397 (Nov. 3, 2025)

21 Id.

22 U.S. Patent No. 11,648,472 (filed May 20, 2020) (issued May 26, 2023)

23 Our Patent Pledge for Increasing Accessibility, Electronic Arts https://www.ea.com/commitments/positive-play/accessibility-patent-pledge

24 Aquino, Steven, Electronic Arts Announces More Accessibility Patents, Forbes (December 5, 2024) https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenaquino/2024/12/05/electronic-arts-announces-more-accessibility-patents/

25 Our Patent Pledge for Increasing Accessibility,Electronic Arts https://www.ea.com/commitments/positive-play/accessibility-patent-pledge

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