Chalk this one up as a victory for the patent trolls. Nintendo of America has been slugged a hefty $21 million fine for patent infringement over several of its controllers. Originally sued in 2006 by Anascape, a small, suspiciously unknown company based out of East Texas, a federal jury has just found that the Wii Classic, Wavebird and Gamecube controllers all infringe on Anascape's patents, which were granted between 1999-2005. These patents focus on a range of control mechanisms, such as analog sensors, tactile feedback, and vibration. Microsoft was also originally involved in the suit, although escaped with a confidential settlement.Charlie Scibetta, a spokesman for Nintendo said the company plans to appeal the decision and expects the court to reduce the award "significantly" upon inspection. Fortunately for Nintendo, no patents were found to be violated with the design of the current Wii Remote and Nunchuk.
Anascape has also made news in the past for suing Microsoft at the same time as the Nintendo case was lodged, although Microsoft escaped the suit with a confidential settlement.
[Yahoo News]
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