21 points
*
Admittedly my understanding of patents is pretty rudimentary but I thought you had to apply before releasing the idea into the world.
If that was right the general concept of a container that you throw at a creature to capture it would be considered unpatentable after Pocket Monsters Red and Green released in February 1997. Of course they could trademark the specific markings of the pokeball but the general mechanic would be fair game.
3 points
5 points
I’m not sure “in a 3D space” qualifies as an “inventive step” these days.
It definitely feels like something a person with ordinary skill in the art to which the invention pertains could easily have made on the basis of an invention or inventions that are already known.
6 points