UltimatePointer files patent lawsuit against Nintendo, and, uh, everyone else
It's been kind of a while since Nintendo was sued by someone for purportedly infringing on existing patents, but UltimatePointer LLC is doing just that in a complaint filed just under two weeks ago. The Texas-based LLC claims that Nintendo's Wiimote conflicts with its own patent (no. 7,746,321) for an "Easily Deployable Interactive Direct-Pointing System and Presentation Control System and Calibration Method Therefor." While UltimatePointer's patent was filed way back in May of 2005, it didn't actually receive official status until June of 2010 -- approximately four years after Nintendo launched its Wii console in North America.
Bizarrely, UltimatePointer is also suing, like, everyone else even remotely involved with the Nintendo Wii. The complaint notes that the various retailers listed (in addition to Nintendo of Japan and Nintendo of America) are liable due to sales association. In so many words, the retailers were involved in the "making, using, importing, and/or selling" of Wii "systems, games, and related accessories (the 'accused products')," and therefore are just as liable for patent infringement as the hardware manufacturer.
Even more bizarrely, the list of defendants includes a scattershot of retail chains in the United States that sell various Wii hardware, including places like QVC and Tiger Direct, but not, say, Amazon or NewEgg. The complaint doesn't request a specific award should UltimatePointer succeed, instead asking that Nintendo of America pay "a reasonable royalty" due to the alleged infringement, in addition to lawyers/court fees and "enhanced damages" owed.
