Nintendo loses another round in controller patent lawsuit

Sony and Microsoft may have sorted things out with Anascape (otherwise known as the self-proclaimed ruler of all analog sticks) before things got too out of hand, but Nintendo has been busy fighting it out with the company in court, which resulted in them being ordered to dish out a hefty $21 million earlier this year -- a ruling that Nintendo naturally appealed. The big N is now facing another setback, however, as a US District Judge has rejected Nintendo's request for a new trial, which could potentially result in a ban on sales of Wii Classic Controllers, WaveBirds, and GameCube controllers (not to mention GameCube systems). To avoid that, Nintendo will apparently either have to post a bond or put royalties from the controllers into an escrow account. For its part, Nintendo seems to be remaining defiant, saying that it "was already planning to appeal this case to the Federal Circuit court," and that this new ruling "does not impact that decision."

[Via Slashdot]

[rock99rock @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:51PM]

When will these idiots get a clue, they are just wasting more money to get to the inevitable end.

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:53PM]

Yes, these idiots. Perhaps it will occur to them during one of their daily swims in a pool of money.

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:57PM]

And checking your post before that in your profile.... your agenda becomes clear. No, I don't mean agenda -- I mean ignorance. Sorry :)

[rock99rock @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:25PM]

@High Ranks make you sterile

Yes, because of the fact that they have so much money, it is ok to waste a sizely portion of it to legal fees and fines. Even though the other 2 major gamesystem producers already owned up to the fact that they were infringing, Nintindo somehow feels that they are entitled to do what they want? Do you personally like wasiting money? I have a Wii, and I have no "agenda" other than the fact that this wasted money could have been put to better use.

Hence the "Idiots" remark, which now includes you.

Low Ranks make you ingnorant. Or should i say, your ignorance shows in your low ranks.

Not sorry :)

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:46PM]

Yawn.

So your other comments in the Motion add-on post:

"They are so good at droppin the ball over there."

would do nothing to make my case. Hmm.. yeah.

And as of right now, I see no Low Rank. You should get your cronies on top of that so you can prove your point. I garner High Ranks and Low Ranks, and could care less in either direction.... either they like my point or they don't.

But keep on speaking out of both sides of your mouth there... pretending to own a Wii so you can save your ass while you bash it. Or maybe you truly do own a Wii, it doesn’t matter in the long run, because the point of my first comment remains firm.

Anyone who is cashing in as mightily as Nintendo can't be an "idiot" and anyone who calls them an "idiot" must be ignorant. That was my entire point.

Highly successful people generally aren't idiots.

Highly Ranked people, on the other hand, may not be such an exclusive club. Your most recently comment on this post here proves that – kudos on breaking that barrier, idiot. You, and several monkeys equipped with cymbals appear to agree with you. Congrats. :)

[ShadowKain @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:19PM]

@High Ranks Make You Smile,

Oh lord above you are PATHETIC. No one cares about the ranking system, each post its a new game, people don't give a shit if they are low ranked on one post, give it a rest and go satisfy your ego somewhere else where they tolerate n00bs like yourself.

On the lawsuit: Interesting giving its been this long in the fight, Nintendo doesn't usually give in unless they really know they are wrong. Hang in there!

[rock99rock @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:59PM]

I just realize i fed the troll. I apologize to everyone. I want to feed him more, but the food deserves a better home :)

Holla!

[From My Cube @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:52PM]

I wish nntendo the best...but when even juggernauts MS and Sony turn in.... i dont think they have a chance

[farfisa @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:53PM]

You can't spell "controller" without "troll."

[Joseph @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:08PM]

Or "con"

[John @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:12PM]

Or "er"

[Conor Kirkpatrick @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:26PM]

And thats my name!








(Sorta...)

[El Taco @ Jul 23rd 2008 6:33PM]

or "rontro"

[El Taco @ Jul 23rd 2008 6:33PM]

wait... nm

[Pochi @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:53PM]

Can I patent... say... "hyper realistic graphics" and then sue the shit out of everyone when the PlayStation 4 and Xbox 3 hit?

It seems like I probably can.

[HOOPER @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:03PM]

PATENT: APPROVED

[ctgaffney @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:41PM]

I'm sorry but I need to defend big N on this one. No-name Anascape can go fornicate themselves with their own analog sticks.

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:00PM]

ctgaffigan: well reasoned argument indeed

[Pochi @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:09PM]

Yes, a compelling argument. And so very relevant to my comment, as well.

[Mikey @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:53PM]

I would hardly call a routine, post-trial rejection from the District Court "another setback." New trials are only granted in very specific situations, and they normally require the District Court Judge to admit that a mistake was made during the trial (and usually that he or she was the one who made the mistake). So, it is not that surprising that a new trial was rejected.

[Justin @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:54PM]

Hrmmm... perhaps this would be a good time to buy those WaveBirds I've been putting off buying for my Wii....

[atomicknuckles @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:09PM]

wah wah wah nintendo want money! feed nintendo money!

waste of litigation.

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:16PM]

it's a wave of mutilation... a wave of muuuuutilation

[yode @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:50PM]

Pixies.

[High Ranks make you sterile @ Jul 23rd 2008 12:58PM]

I'm actually suing you right now for use of my term. I patended that back when I first laid my eyes upon the Virtual Boy. It's a red, red world.

[Nightmare @ Jul 24th 2008 6:28PM]

@ high ranks make you sterile

dont listen to them, but in all honesty, these people dont mess around the'll turn you in if you fuck with there little worlds, their red,red worlds.

e.g. clak

poor, poor clak

[Chad @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:14PM]

I thought Nintendo was a Japanese company and therefore would not be subject patent infringements on American companies.

[Sarig @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:24PM]

Probably correct, but when they're selling stuff in the US, it's another matter entirely.

[Craig @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:25PM]

American companies often file international patents at the same time they file US patents to cover situations like this (i.e., companies elsewhere infringing).

Not that Nintendo is necessarily infringing...didn't mean to imply that.

Or that infringing is always a bad thing.

Or that I'm a lawyer, which I'm not.

Or that this comment is worth reading, which it isn't.

[phanbouy @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:27PM]

where's Nilay when ya need him? slacker!

[Gavin Veasey @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:18PM]

Not that bad of an event, the Clastic Controller for the Wii sucks. It is a big deal for Wavebirds. I love those things.

[Eric @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:22PM]

It seems like this would have come up back in 2001, when the GameCube controller was released...

[PhoenixAvatar @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:25PM]

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that Nintendo has stopped making and selling all things Gamecube hardware except for the platinum wired controller. It's the only one available new on Amazon and it's been like that for months at least.

[worm @ Jul 23rd 2008 1:35PM]

I have a hard time believing that Nintendo would even feel the effect of paying $21 million. That's a bit like fining me one nickel.

I am sad to see the Wavebird go though. That is, unless there's an improvement on it in the works.

[M @ Jul 23rd 2008 4:24PM]

If I recall correctly, Nintendo said months ago that they were no longer selling Wavebirds. That's why you see some selling for over a hundred dollars on ebay.

One thing I'm curious about is, (let's say Nintendo loses the appeal and cannot sell these controllers anymore), would that mean video game resellers like Gamestop would not be allowed to sell the used controllers? If I had to guess I'd say they could.

[ShadowKain @ Jul 23rd 2008 2:19PM]

Sorry, sterile* not smile. Correction made.

[Darkroom @ Jul 23rd 2008 5:02PM]

hay Anascape, i've got a big fat stick for you to suck on...

[Spanky @ Jul 23rd 2008 10:52PM]

Nintendo Have time and time again, redefined gamepads (with great success).
If you could credit Nintendo with anything, it would be for being original. Who's to say that Anascape aren't just trying to milk every penny they can get, and Nintendo can't win this case?

[ImpulGen @ Jul 24th 2008 6:46AM]

What about the N64 controller. Wasn't that the first controller to have the analog stick, on home consoles that is, don't know about PCs. And that was back in 1996 right. So...did they "infringe" on Anascape's patents then?

[amin @ Jul 25th 2008 3:19AM]

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