Nintendo being sued over motion patents in the Wii and Wii U
Nintendo's not having a great 2014. Between lackluster financial results, an accidental controversy, and now a lawsuit from Philips, life could be better. The Dutch electronics company Koninklijke Philips (better known as just Philips, for obvious reasons) is suing Nintendo over motion patents that span the entire Wii line: "Wii video gaming systems and related software and accessories including, for example, the Wii console, Wii Remote Plus Controller, Wii Remote Controller, Wii U console, Wii U GamePad, and Wii Mini," the lawsuit filing reads. Worse for Nintendo, Philips is looking to halt the sales of those products while the court case proceeds, which could turn the Wii U's poor sales into an even more dire situation.
For its part, Nintendo isn't issuing a formal statement. Philips' formal statement is written all over the legal documents. The electronics company alleges that Nintendo intentionally infringed on patents owned by Philips, that Nintendo was warned about said infringing patents in late 2011, and that Nintendo continued to voluntarily violate said patents. Beyond the creation of devices, Nintendo allegedly infringed Philips' patents, "by making, using, selling, offering for sale, andimporting interactive virtual modeling products within the United States." As such, Philips is suing Nintendo in the United States district court (specifically in Delaware, where many companies register for tax reasons).
Should the case go to trial, Philips is requesting one by jury. Also, Nintendo will have to stop selling its Wii and Wii U game consoles in the US during the trial. All that said, it's very likely this will be settled out of court so Nintendo can avoid that situation.
