Veteran IP attorney Kirk Sigmon is publicly shredding the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for awarding Nintendo a fresh patent on the decades-old mechanic of summoning creatures to fight for the player, warning that the decision injects new legal risk into every MMO and multiplayer game that relies on pet, mount or AI-companion systems. Writing in a detailed PC Gamer op-ed, Sigmon labels the grant “shocking and offensive,” noting that the examiner accepted Nintendo’s claims with zero rejections and simply copied a block quote from the filing into the approval notice, a procedural red flag rarely seen in software patents.
The patent, granted September 9, 2025, covers a method of invoking an NPC ally during combat—functionality present in everything from World of Warcraft’s hunter pets to Final Fantasy XIV’s carbuncles and Guild Wars 2’s ranger spirits. Sigmon argues that prior art stretching back to early MUDs and 1990s RPGs should have invalidated the application, and that USPTO negligence now forces studios to choose between costly redesigns or years of licensing uncertainty. Because Nintendo has a documented history of targeting small teams—most recently in the Palworld litigation—indies and crowdfunded MMOs could face disproportionate legal exposure if the Kyoto publisher chooses to enforce the new IP.
MMO developers watching the story unfold have fresh reason to audit their own pet and summoning code before the next round of fundraising or Steam launch, while legal departments brace for a potential surge of precautionary patent challenges should the USPTO decision stand.
