tomita-technologies
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Nintendo to pay royalty to 3D patent holder for every 3DS unit sold
A U.S. federal judge has established a royalty rate Nintendo will pay to Tomita Technologies International for every Nintendo 3DS handheld console sold worldwide. The ongoing fee stems from a a 2011 lawsuit that found Nintendo liable for damages after infringing upon Tomita's glasses-free 3D technology patent. Engadget reports that Nintendo will pay Tomita 1.82 percent of the wholesale price of every 3DS and 3DS XL sold over the portable hardware's lifespan. The judgment does not apply to the recently released Nintendo 2DS hardware revision, which abandons the handheld's 3D display as a cost-cutting measure. A federal jury ruled in favor of Tomita in the company's patent infringement lawsuit earlier this year, awarding damages that were later reduced to $15.1 million.
Nintendo wins 50 percent reduction of $30M 3D infringement award
Nintendo only has to pay half of the $30.2 million a US District Court determined it owed to Seijiro Tomita for infringing on his 3D display patent. As both Bloomberg and Reuters reports, Judge Jed Rakoff gave Tomita and his company Tomita Technologies the option to accept $15.1 million in damages, or risk nothing by entering another trial. Back in March, the US District Court in Manhattan judged Nintendo guilty of infringing upon Tomita's 3D-display tech patent, filed in 2003 and granted in 2008. Tomita's attorney, Joe Diamante, claimed Nintendo used his client's technology to develop the 3DS. However, yesterday Judge Rakoff said the award was "intrinsically excessive" and "unsupported by the evidence presented at trial." The reduction in penalties is massive, but Nintendo plans on appealing the verdict, just the same. Spokesperson Charlie Scibetta told Reuters, "Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of other companies and is confident that none of its products infringes the asserted patent. Nintendo will appeal the jury's verdict and reduced damages award to the court of appeals." As for Tomita, his attorney informed Reuters, "We are still reviewing the decision and have no comment." We doubt we've heard the last of this case yet.
Nintendo loses lawsuit over 3DS patent infringement
A federal jury has found Nintendo guilty of infringing on the 3D display patent of Seijiro Tomita of Tomita Technologies, awarding Tomita $30.2 million in damages.Tomita first filed the lawsuit back in 2011 – his patent for "technology relating to displaying stereoscopic images on-screen for viewing with the naked eye, i.e., without utilizing glasses or other devices" was originally filed in 2003 and granted in 2008.
Nintendo faces lawsuit over 3DS screen technology
Tomita Technologies has filed a patent suit against Nintendo, alleging that the 3DS's stereoscopic display infringes upon Tomita's patent for "technology relating to displaying stereoscopic images on-screen for viewing with the naked eye, i.e., without utilizing glasses or other devices.," filed in 2003 and granted in 2008. Nintendo is no stranger to these patent suits, with previous complaints claiming Nintendo infringed upon others' patents with Wii Fit, the GameCube and Classic Controllers, controller ports, and motion controls (Nintendo settled in that case). We don't claim to be legal experts, but something seems off about this particular case from the outset: the screens are made by Sharp, not Nintendo.
Nintendo 3DS accused of infringing on two-dimensional Tomita patent
Watch out, Mario, the Lawyer Bros. are after you again. This time it's Tomita Technologies and the patent in question is number 7,417,664, "Stereoscopic Image Picking Up and Display System Based Upon Optical Axes Cross-Point Information." As you might have guessed, the case has to do with 3DS and its use of a parallax barrier 3D screen, something the Tomita's 2008 patent (applied for in 2003) certainly describes, in addition to a stereoscopic capture device, a position-tracking system, and lots of other accoutrement. The case was filed on June 22nd and there's not much for us to do now but wait to see whether this plucky plumber can jump his way into dismissal like he has again and again.
