Published , by Brittany Vincent
Published , by Brittany Vincent
A federal court in Dallas has overturned a previous judgment against Nintendo following a 2017 patent infringement suit.
Previously, Nintendo was ordered to pay iLife Technologies $10 million for patent infringement, as ruled by a Dallas jury. The suit had dated all the way back to 2013, when iLife originally alleged that tech used for the Wii remote violated a series of patents that Nintendo owed compensation for. The news came out today by way of a press release issued by Nintendo itself.
In the new findings, the court ruled that the patent Nintendo originally reportedly infringed on wasn't valid. In the court's own words, iLife Technologies Inc. was "impermissibly" working to cover the "broad concept of using motion sensors to detect motion."
This new ruling will now overturn said $10 million jury award, which is a big win for the company. When the original ruling in iLife's favor surfaced, Engadget reported that iLife had filed similar suits against a litany of technology companies like Fitbit at the time. Those were settled out of court and dismissed, though Nintendo's suit carried on at the time. The plaintiff iLife even asked for $144 million in damages.
"Nintendo has a long history of developing new and unique products, and we are pleased that, after many years of litigation, the court agreed with Nintendo," said Ajay Singh, deputy general counsel for Nintendo of America. "We will continue to vigorously defend our products against companies seeking to profit off of technology they did not invent."
Looks like another lengthy legal battle has drawn to a close. We'll keep you updated as further developments – if any – arise with this case.