[News] Nintendo vs. Interlink

Quote:

"Wii-mote" trigger prompts lawsuit
User-interface specialist Interlink cries foul, files patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo of America.
By Curt Feldman, GameSpot
Posted Dec 8, 2006 12:13 pm PT

While most in the game industry view the Wii's unconventionally shaped controller as something unique, there's one company that has a different view of the device.

Interlink Electronics, Inc., a California company that specializes in the design and manufacturing of interface devices, on Monday filed a complaint against Nintendo's US subsidiary, Nintendo of America, accusing it of patent infringement. Interlink's products include devices to assist in PowerPoint presentations, conference room keyboards, and portable speakers.

Interlink filed its complaint, first reported by Kotaku, in US District Court in Delaware.

The complaint alleges that the trigger on the bottom of the Wii controller infringes on Interlink Patent No. 6,850,221 (Trigger Operated Electronic Device), which the company secured on February 1, 2005. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata first presented the Wii controller to the public not too long after that date, during the 2005 Tokyo Game Show.

The drawings (above) that accompanied the patent application--first filed on September 17, 1997--do look suspiciously similar to the Wii trigger, but in the filing, Interlink offers scant detail of exactly how Nintendo currently infringes on the '221 patent, stating only that "Nintendo has made, used, offered for sale and sold in the United States, and continues to make, use, offer for sale and sell in the United States one or more controllers which activities infringe, induce others to infringe, and/or contributorily infringe the '221 patent."

The complaint seeks a jury trial and damages to determine the amount of "loss of reasonable royalties, reduced sales and/or lost profits as a result of the infringing activities."

This lawsuit brought by Interlink recalls the legal wrangling Microsoft and Sony found themselves in when Immersion Corp. brought lawsuits against those two console giants. Back in 2003, Immersion hauled those console makers into court, alleging patent infringement of Immersion's "haptic" technology, which allows gamers to feel controllers vibrate as they react to onscreen action. Microsoft eventually settled with Immersion, while Sony went to the mat, suffering defeat at the bench and paying Immersion Corp. more that $80 million in damages.

Source.

I'm going to call a big "What the Fuck?" here.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

You make a good point, but you can't doubt that it's not done for the sole purpose of them collecting cash, since there have been quite a few things that have used this and none of them got sued or anything. It's only when some big, popular company comes up and makes something popular that they sue. Hell, they could have sued way back in 2005 when Nintendo first showed the controller. But they waited until it released everywhere, showing how big of a hit it was.

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Damn, if worst comes to worst, I need to pick one up NOW. Along with all 4 Wiimotes+nunchucks. That'll definitely set me back financially after doing the math.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.