3/17/2024 0 Comments Palworld gameplay![]() ![]() "Absent a direct theft of assets, characters, textures, or similar, we’re left asking whether the designs themselves are 'substantially similar' in those areas which can be protected. "Unfortunately, the line between influence and infringement is not as clear as gamers (or developers) might like," he adds. Speaking to, he suggests that Palword's creature designs are "trying to evoke the feeling of Pokémon," which is not inherently illegal. Richard Hoeg, managing partner of The Hoeg Law firm, discussed this issue at length in an episode of his Virtual Legality podcast. If they do, it doesn't automatically make them right" Richard Hoeg, The Hoeg Law Firm "Just because Nintendo doesn't move against something doesn't mean it's not infringing. "This all makes the legal position rather more nuanced and complicated than some hot-takes out there might suggest." He adds that different jurisdictions also have different rules on IP, so the courts of one country may say a game is infringing rights while those of another may not – a situation made even more complex by the fact Palworld is available in over 100 countries, thanks to Steam. "For example, and speaking in general terms, trade marks protect brands from consumer confusion, copyright protects against the unlawful copying of original creative works, design rights protect the appearance of novel designs for products from use on other products, and patents grant temporary exclusive use of inventive ideas with industrial application." "Intellectual property is not a single right, but a collection of various rights that protect different elements of proprietary material," he explains. ![]() Lewis Silkin's head of interactive entertainment Nick Allan observes that all the excitement around the games has caused "some conflation of distinct legal issues" – a common occurrence, he notes – and it's worth clarifying what would actually be in dispute here if legal action were to take place. "While these two games have their similarities, they also have very obvious differences in terms of moment to moment gameplay, combat mechanics, survival elements, and so on." Nick Allan, Lewis Silkin "However, how players feel is a completely different question from whether or not IP infringement has occurred from a legal perspective. "I think it’s valid for players to voice when they feel that one game takes too much inspiration from another in terms of content, look and feel, and so on," Wiggin partner Peter Lewin tells us. Social media posts and Reddit threads have been dedicated to comparisons between Game Freak's decades-old characters and those of this month's multi-million selling survival game, with the term 'Pokémon with guns' established as the unofficial tagline for developer Pocketpair's new IP.īut legal experts tell this is not as open-and-shut a case as some Reddit users would have you believe. There are a lot of people who think Palworld has more than a passing resemblance to Pokémon. ![]()
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