Nintendo has won a major controller court case in the US after Microsoft conceded amd settled.
Determined to prove a point Nintendo persisted in its patent battle with US Company Anascape Ltd, with the Japanese Company winning a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that overturns a $21 million jury verdict previously handed down against the company.
The court sided with the company in the dispute over the Classic Controller for the Nintendo Wii and the WaveBird (pictured) and standard controllers for the Nintendo GameCube.
The jury had previously determined that the Wii Remote and Nunchuck didn’t infringe on the Anascape patent. The effect of the ruling today is to clear all of the Nintendo controllers of the infringement claims.
“We appreciate that our position has been vindicated,” said Rick Flamm, general counsel for Nintendo, in a statement released by the company. The original trial had taken place in the US District Court which is, a common forum for patent disputes with a reputation for landmark verdicts in patent cases.
Anascape had been represented by the law firm McKool Smith, which has more recently represented plaintiffs i4i Inc. and VirnetX in high-profile patent victories over Microsoft.
Microsoft settled with Anascape for an undisclosed sum prior to trial.
