Nintendo was one of several victims of a lawsuit over a dispute claiming the company contravened a patent for the “method and apparatus for creating and distributing real-time interactive media content through wireless communication networks and the internet.” This lawsuit came from Wall Wireless, a non-practicing entity that has the right to patents, which often is used to sue against other companies. The lawsuit originates from 2009, however the case wasn’t officially dismissed until just yesterday, when the United States Patent and Trademark office dismissed all claims that Wall Wireless was after. Nintendo commented on the situation, stating that the Japanese Patent Office also looked into the situation, and found no patent infringements in Japan as well.
Richard Medway, Vice President of Nintendo of America said ““We are very pleased to see the US case dismissed, and also to have the Japanese Patent Office confirm that Nintendo does not infringe Wall’s Japanese patents. Nintendo vigorously defends patent lawsuits and other proceedings when we believe we have not infringed another party’s patents. It does not matter where such cases are filed or if it takes more than five years to vindicate our position. Nintendo continues to develop unique and innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others.”
Nintendo was not the only victim in the patent dispute. Sony and Nokia were also targets of Wall Wireless for patent infringement. Although Nintendo was victorious in this lawsuit, this hasn’t been their only legal struggle in recent years. Currently, Nintendo is struggling against Philips, with Philips seeking damages for infringement of its “”Virtual Body Control Device” and “User Interface System Based on Pointing Device” patents. Nintendo also lost a lawsuit regarding the 3DS earlier this year. In a ruling in favor of Tomita Technologies, Nintendo must pay 1.82 percent in royalties for every 3DS sold, due to infringement on Tomita Technologies patent.
Nintendo may have had struggles recently, but one thing is for sure, Nintendo might get down, but they are never out.