Nintendo has settled a patent infringement case that could have blocked sales of the Wii in the United States, reports Bloomberg.
As GamePolitics noted last September, Hillcrest Labs not only sued Nintendo, but filed a complaint with the U.S. International Trade Commission, alleging that the Wii's motion control system infringed upon the Maryland-based company's patents.
Nearly a year (and lots of attorney fees) later, on August 21st, Nintendo and Hillcrest advised the USITC that they had reached an agreement. Financial details were not made public.
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Well im glad that the wii isn't gonna get banned in the USA.
http://www.magicinkgaming.com/
Well I can breathe a sigh of relief
Watching JT on GP is just like watching an episode of Jerry springer only as funny as the fights
Now, if I could only find one.
Have you not been to a store recently? Do you not shop at Amazon.com? These things are as common as any other game system now. If I were to walk into Target right now, I would find at least 10.
E. Zachary Knight
Oklahoma City Chapter of the ECA
http://www.theeca.com/chapters_oklahoma
I must say I am a little dissapointed that this was settled out of court. I really wanted to know what patents were being infringed on, if they were specific components they were compaining about or if they were laying claim to all motion controlled remotes.
In recent years, there have been several cases filed against the likes of Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft for elements in their systems, and the cases are coming out long after the systems have been on the market, which to me seems like it's just greed in action. Perhaps its about time for the patent system to get a good look over, no?
I hate broccoli/ and think it totally sucks/ Why isn't it meat?
By visiting the USPTO's website you should be able to search for patents registered by Hillcrest. Reviewing the results of that search should enable you to identify patents that relate to motion-controlled remotes and the specific elements of that technology to which Hillcrest lays claim.
I checked the PTO website and searched for Hillcrest. I found a patent for a motion-controlled mouse based on a three-axis system that looked far more advanced than what's in the Wii remote. I don't see Nintendo as actually having stolen said technology, but it looked close enough to me that I would probably have filed suit.
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He was dead when I got here.