Nintendo is no stranger to ongoing patent battles over their innovative technology. Their motion controlled gaming approach with the Wii changed the face of gaming as we knew it at the time, springboarding the next console war as other companies jumped aboard the motion control train.
Naturally, this brought about many lawsuits from folks who believed they deserved a slice of the pie—and Nintendo managed to fight most of them off, giving them a strong track record for winning frivolous lawsuits.
The most recent challenge to their tech came in the form of a patent lawsuit against their Wii Balance Board. Ithaca Ventures and Ithaca Development claimed that Nintendo ripped off their idea, and Nintendo came back swinging by “seeking sanctions for filing a meritless case.”
You may have a good idea of what happened next—Ithaca lost and had to pay Nintendo’s fees in a German version of the case and then had to drop its equivalent lawsuit claim in a Seattle court. As always, Nintendo released a statement from NoA’s VP and Deputy General Counsel Richard Medway:
“Nintendo will vigorously defend its innovations against patent lawsuits, and will not pay to resolve meritless accusations, no matter whether the case is filed in the United States or elsewhere.”
Who’s going to pull out their Balance Board and do some Wii Fit to celebrate?
