Nintendo Stock Rises Amid Patent Reevaluation, Legal Battle with Palworld Developer

Nintendo Co., Ltd. (NTDOF) shares gained 1.3% on Wednesday, continuing a remarkable 64.81% year-to-date rally. The uptick comes despite a U.S. Patent Office decision to reevaluate a key patent covering in-game character mechanics—a development that could influence the company's ongoing lawsuit against Palworld developer Pocketpair.

The patent in question, filed in 2023 but describing gameplay mechanics long prevalent in the industry, protects the summoning of support characters during battle modes. Nintendo's legal team has targeted similar mechanics in Palworld, a viral sensation with over 25 million unit sales that draws frequent comparisons to Pokémon.

Market momentum appears undeterred by the patent review, with Nintendo stock climbing 65.7% over the past twelve months. Analysts attribute much of this performance to the runaway success of the Nintendo Switch 2, though details about the console's impact were truncated in the original report.