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Nintendo says it refuses to 'succumb to patent trolls' as it wins Maryland case

Nintendo issued a fairly terse press release earlier today, announcing that it has prevailed in a US patent lawsuit for the "third consecutive time this year." That particular case concerned Nintendo's Wii Balance Board accessory and Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus software, which a company called IA Labs said infringed on one of its patents (No. 7,121,982); a claim that was dismissed by the Maryland District Court judge in the case. IA Labs was also more or less dismissed as a company by Nintendo's senior vice president of legal and general counsel Rick Flamm, who said that "we vigorously defend patent lawsuits when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party's patent," and that "we refuse to succumb to patent trolls." The company's full statement can be found after the break.

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Nintendo Prevails in Maryland Patent Suit

U.S. District Court Judge Says No Need for Jury Trial


REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- For the third consecutive time this year, Nintendo has prevailed in a patent litigation in the U.S. A Maryland U.S. District Court judge has summarily dismissed a patent infringement lawsuit against Nintendo brought by IA Labs CA, LLC. IA Labs had alleged that the Wii Balance Board accessory and Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus software infringed on one of its patents (U.S. Patent No. 7,121,982).

"Nintendo has a passionate tradition of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others. We vigorously defend patent lawsuits when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party's patent. We refuse to succumb to patent trolls," said Rick Flamm, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of Legal & General Counsel.

For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console, Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.9 billion video games and more than 620 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com.

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