Philips is out to ban the Wii U from sale in the US


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Philips is making an attempt to get the Wii U banned from sale in the US on the grounds of patent infringement. The electronics giant has accused Nintendo of replicating specific technology concerning naviation via "pointing device" like the Wii Remote and in addition, patents that replicate real-life actions in-game. So, basically, everything the Wii U stands for.

 

Philips' lawsuit explains the situation more thoroughly: "The present patents-in-suit stem from these fields of research and development and claims protection for an interactive system for which a user can remotely control devices in an intuitive manner. Such intuitive remote control mechanisms are used in present-day home video game consoles."

 

And even though Philips realizes that Nintendo was using this type of technology way back when the Wii was in production, the company claims they were in touch with Nintendo about that very technology back in November and December of 2011.

 

It's hard to say who's at fault here without the right amount of evidence, but Philips is looking for a full ban on Wii U sales i nthe US and other hardware, monetary damages, and a trial by jury. I'm guessing Phoenix Wright won't be stepping in on this one.

 

Philips wants Wii U banned for patent infringement [Eurogamer]

 

http://www.destructoid.com/philips-is-out-to-ban-the-wii-u-from-sale-in-the-us-274926.phtml

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Nintendo's Wii infringes on Philips' remote control patents, UK court rules*

 

:/

 

*Not related to the US case in OP, but not looking good if they back their case with this ruling.

So almost 8 ######ing years after the Wii released they sue. There needs to be a law that states if you don't file a patent infringement claim within the first year or so of the device being released it's invalid.

Philips just waited for Wii U sales to pick up and to see how well the Wii sold so that they could claim a ridiculous amount of money in their settlement.

 

Both infringed patents are for a ?user interface system based on a pointing device.? The patents describe a computer system with a handheld pointing device with both a camera and a physical motion sensor. The patents describe a computer system with a handheld pointing device with both a camera and a physical motion sensor. Philips claim to the patent related to a device with a camera and a motion sensor is valid, the court said. ?The Nintendo Wii system set up with Wii Tennis is an example of that combination and therefore infringes the claim,? it said.

The patent in question is generic as ###### "user interface system based on a pointing device" and as far as I can tell, Philips has no usage of the patent at all. Also since when did the Wii even use a camera?

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Edit: AH so it seems Phillips applied for a patent in 2003, and it was finally granted in 2011. When the patent was finally granted, Phillips then sued Nintendo. In return Nintendo should sue the patent office for taking 8 years to grant a patent. How the hell are you supposed to know if your software / hardware infringes on patents if it takes them that long to grant a single one?

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So almost 8 ######ing years after the Wii released they sue. There needs to be a law that states if you don't file a patent infringement claim within the first year or so of the device being released it's invalid.

Philips just waited for Wii U sales to pick up and to see how well the Wii sold so that they could claim a ridiculous amount of money in their settlement.

 

The patent in question is generic as ###### "user interface system based on a pointing device" and as far as I can tell, Philips has no usage of the patent at all. Also since when did the Wii even use a camera?

 

Hopefully the recent US Supreme Court ruling will come into play and this won't be an issue in the US.

http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/19/supreme-court-unanimously-rules-that-software-patents-cant-cove/

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So almost 8 ######ing years after the Wii released they sue. There needs to be a law that states if you don't file a patent infringement claim within the first year or so of the device being released it's invalid.

Philips just waited for Wii U sales to pick up and to see how well the Wii sold so that they could claim a ridiculous amount of money in their settlement.

 

The patent in question is generic as ###### "user interface system based on a pointing device" and as far as I can tell, Philips has no usage of the patent at all. Also since when did the Wii even use a camera?

----

Edit: AH so it seems Phillips applied for a patent in 2003, and it was finally granted in 2011. When the patent was finally granted, Phillips then sued Nintendo. In return Nintendo should sue the patent office for taking 8 years to grant a patent. How the hell are you supposed to know if your software / hardware infringes on patents if it takes them that long to grant a single one?

Now that you say it, there's one console out there that actually uses a camera and a pointing device :p 

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If they actually succeeded in blocking the Wii U in the US, it might just lead to WW3. Aren't there human rights that cover the right to a Nintendo console?

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There needs to be a law that states you shouldn't file for trademarks on generic terms.

Fixed.

 

And quite frankly, this is getting ridiculous. How many more trivial lawsuits are we going to endure before somebody realises the patent system is the problem!

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