Two years after we thought it was
all over, it sounds like the saga of Sony, Immersion, and the
rumblin' DualShock has yet another chapter: a New Jersey electrical engineer named Craig Thorner is now suing Sony and its attorneys, claiming that he was more or less duped out of one of his patents in a shady deal designed to help Sony and PDP/Electrosource beat Immersion's cases against them. Oh yeah, it's a tangled mess -- Thorner first signed over his patent to Immersion, hoping to score a little slice of royalty pie when the lawsuit settled, but then took it back when he decided Immersion wasn't pursuing it hard enough and signed it over to PDP/Electrosource, who promised him $150,000. So where does Sony come in? Thorner says PDP and Sony were teamed up to beat Immersion, and that Sony was secretly the one licensing the patent but trying to remain out of the picture to keep the price down -- and he's got proof, in the form of a $150,000 wire transfer between the two companies. Not only that, but Sony's attorneys apparently promised Thorner that they could "wear two hats" during negotiations and represent both him and Sony, which is ten kinds of shady. You can guess what happened next: Sony lost, PDP settled, and Immersion sued Thorner for breaking his agreement -- and Sony's attorneys didn't help him defend the lawsuit. Did we say ten kinds of shady? Eleven kinds. Of course, it's doubtful that Thorner is totally innocent here, so it'll be interesting to see how Sony responds, but at this point we're treating the DualShock 3 as a miracle of nature and leaving it at that.
[Via
Joystiq]
Read - GamePolitics article (with PDF of the complaint)
Read - Law.com article
posted Apr 24th 2009 1:44PM
Let's get ready to rumble.
I see what you did there.
Expect a lawsuit soon :D
He got greedy and lost.
seriously. You can't just go and break contract to switch sides for more money. I'm all for this guy just losing out completely. Sure Sony (probably) swindled him, but he screwed up first.
This. That's all that needs to be said. The avalanche of shadiness spawned from this guy, and I have no sympathy for him.
Bingo.
I love it when weasels try to worm their way into more money then they get wormed themselves! Brilliant!
I agree, it seems really shady to me. I'm no lawyer, but I don't think you can Indian-give patent rights when things don't go your way.
The dope! 150k was"chump change" and he realized it to late. He should have ask for much more money in the original deal. This is a topical example of an inventor with "0" business sense...
Remember, Tesla was a pauper when he died and he was one of mankind's most important inventors. Quite sad really...
Science is generally not a well paying field. Especially theoretical science and physics.
Wow, "DualShock 3" sounds more and more like a sequel of a soap opera now.
Or an early 90s action movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as escaped test subjects of a government program that turns soldiers into lightning bolt throwing death machines.
Haha...they already made that movie, except for the whole lightning
bolt throwing part. It was called "Universal Soldiers".
And why Sony couldn't follow Microsoft and Nintendo and just pay up front, is beyond me. I'm guessing they wanted to make rumble proprietary like all of their wires and ports that they insist on pushing upon the consumers.
so, so true... Memory Stick Duo for the PSP? I mean seriously, are there really that many things out there that use that sorry excuse for a memory card? (Other than the PSP of course) I think not. Not even the Duo though, but all the other 10 kinds of memory cards they make. its pretty ridiculous.
Yeah, I'm sick of them and their proprietary garbage. I mean, what else can I possibly use those USB ports, Bluetooth and SD card slots on the PS3 for? Only Sony accessories I"m sure, I wish they'd stop trying to push that technology on me. I bet if I wanted to swap the hard drive, they'd make me buy it from them via NewEgg or some other proprietary Sony store. Curses be upon you Sony!!!!
AutumnBringer, if you're sick of all that proprietary nonsense like USB, Bluetooth, WiFi and standard 2.5inch hard disks I suggest you get an Xbox 360. The wireless controller interface, WiFi adapter and hard disks are open designs that can be bought from anyone (as long as it's Microsoft).
As I recall Nintendo's implementation of rumble was distinct enough that they didn't break any patents. (mainly that they use a single motor, instead of two)
Wow... How does lawsuit?
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more like joke terminated actually...
That controller is pretty cool. WANT!
Grumble Patent?
lol
that is some greasy shit
I almost feel like this one needs a diagram, but I am not sure if there is any way to diagram that makes it seem any less messed up.
I don't like your name.
So this is how I interpret what was written... in my own timeline:
Thorner -> Immersion : Can you get me my money?
Thorner -> PDP/Electrosource : Can you get me my money?
Immersion -> Thorner : Yeah sure...
Immersion -> Sony : Give me money!
Immersion -> Nintendo : Give me money!
Immersion -> Microsoft : Give me money!
Sony -> PDP/Electrosource : Look, we need to license this and Immersion is trying to milk us. Can you license your version and we can fight this? We'll settle for $150K for the license and we'll help you fight immersion for the license.
PDP/Electrosource -> Thorner : How does $150K sound?
Thorner -> Immersion : You aren't working fast enough! Gimme back my patent!
Thorner -> PDP/Electrosource : Get my money!
Immersion -> Thorner : /file suit for breach of contract
Thorner -> Sony : OMG, they want to hurt me now, help!
Nintendo -> Immersion : /pull out wallet
Microsoft -> Immersion : /pull out wallet
Judge -> Sony : Pay up man. Immersion clearly has this patent.
Sony -> Immersion : /pull out wallet
Thorner -> Sony : Why didn't you win?!
Sony -> Thorner : Dude... you were the one that breached the contract with Immersion to get quick cash!
Sounds like Immersion made out like a bandit.
I don't think immersion sued nintendo, as nintendo owns some of them.
This lawsuit is soooo last gen.
Sony can bite me.
The double-crosser got double-crossed by dual-hat wearing lawyers? Color me dual-shocked.
Greetings fellow readers of Engadget,
I am here to announce my new patent which is dubbed Air. It is crisp, it is clean, and it allows living creatures to keep living. However I did notice the other day that God has been using my patent "Air" and redistributing it to trillions of people. This is why, on April 24th, 2009, I (referring to oneself) will be suing god for more money than even he can afford.
Please send my faithful regards to those who believe in what is right in the patent system, the judgment system, and to all those who were negatively affected by this.
I, amongst my legion of lawyers, will be fighting for our civil rights on 09/09/09 (September 9th, 2009) at the Supreme Court at the New Jersey Shore.
Thank you and have a great day!
- The Devil's Advocate
Can "God" make so much money that even he can't afford? :p
... I could have swore I clicked on Devil's reply.
Poor guy.. Don't hate the player hate the game.. He played with fire and got burnt.. Lmao
What a twisted web! And for a measly 150k... lol
I almost thought that was an actual movie about the lawsuits for a second there. lol
But really shouldn't he be going after Nintendo more then anybody? I mean aren't they kind of the ones that brought rumble to consoles.
Amusing how most posters think that his crimes justify the crimes committed towards him.. criminals can sue each other.. and I bet he will pay much less for his crime than what they are going to pay to him if he wins.
Bit late to be complaining now. Just seems like a silly attempt to grab some cash. Sony is the wrong place to go for that at the moment.
ya I dont know about Sony these days ...
I just got a Vaio VGN-P530 sent from Sony ... its a $1000 brick and I can't even seem to get someone on the phone from the United States to send me the ship back info.
I should have bought a dell mini for 1/3 the price
Lars @ Apr 24th 2009 4:13PM I agree, it seems really shady to me. I'm no lawyer, but I don't think you can Indian-give patent rights when things don't go your way. The is a legal issue did he give limited or unlimited rights.. As a pateht holder you ARE permitted to fole out your patent in any way you and your attorney agree and make it a binding agreement,, IE NON-exclusive rights vs EXCLUSIVE rights, IF it was NONexclusive and had a clause to allow you to change your mind then he is in his rights.. but for some reason I really don't think THIS is a clause action I think he just got greedy and screwed himself
of course sony baloney swindled him. how do you really think that they became such a large company?