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Wii and Gamecube controllers facing US ban

23 July 2008 16:05 by Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 15 comments

Nintendo has lost in their attempt to have a patent-infringement verdict overturned and are now facing a US ban on their Wii Classic Controller, WaveBird controller and Nintendo GameCube controller.

Last month, the privately held Anascape Ltd. won the infringement case against the video game giant and yesterday U.S. District Judge Ron Clark through out Nintendo's request for a new trial in the case.

The injunction will be put on hold however while Nintendo appeals the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Nintendo will have to put royalties in an escrow account however or the ban will go on as planned, appeal or not.

"Nintendo was already planning to appeal this case to the Federal Circuit court," Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta said. "The recent ruling by the trial court does not impact that decision."

Scibetta added that once the royalties are posted, the company will "immediately appeal" the decision. The company has since discontinued making the GameCube and WaveBird controllers but the Wii Classic Controller continues to be a big seller.

Fortunately for Nintendo, the Wii-Mote and "Nunchuk" attachment were found to not violate the patents involved in the case. The patents covered "certain configuration of the remote to control six types of motions at the same time" and were developed by inventor Brad Armstrong of Anascape.

The company wanted the injunction on the controllers because Anascape wants to enter the market and believes "Nintendo has clogged the channel." Sony licensed the patent in 2004 and Microsoft settled out of court in May to avoid a trial.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Consoles

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emugamer (Member) 23 July 2008 16:37
Lol...now the Company wants to enter the market? Which market? The frivolous patent lawsuit market? I hear there's big bucks in that. Just need be patient and wait for the opportune time to collect the most out of back royalties. [ + quote]
xugiua (Newbie) 23 July 2008 18:06
These people freely sueing everyone in America is retarded. Reminds me of the guitar hero lawsuit. Well we made a patent 7 years ago, but now that you made it popular I wanna make'em. People piss me off. [ + quote]
embo22000 (Newbie) 23 July 2008 18:37
WOW........................ [ + quote]
21Q (Senior Member) 23 July 2008 19:27
Well I guess I should get some new gc controllers asap. My old ones barely work as it is. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 23 July 2008 20:11
in some patent cases you can make the design and file for it but it can take you another 5+ years to get the product to market, so meh shame on nin for not doing their patent homework. [ + quote]
7thsinger (AfterDawn Addict) 23 July 2008 20:13
*Originally posted by 21Q:* Well I guess I should get some new gc controllers asap. My old ones barely work as it is. Lol. I was just thinking the same thing. Learn To Backup DVDs Here And Here. [ + quote]
susieqbbb (Member) 23 July 2008 22:27
I Would like to know how this violates anything this company is saying they designed all of these controllers now wait a freaking minute if they designed all of these controllers then the nes and snes would be a part of the lawsuit the reason why you ask. Simple the classic controller for the wii is based on the SNES controller and the Gamecube controllers nintendo designed years ago so i would love to know why didn't this company come fourth when the gamecube came out and why they are sueing now i find this funny it looks like the company is in the hole and is trying to sue everything in sight to make money even funnier if nintendo loses this i would like to know how the hell we are suppose to control are virtual console games?? [ + quote]
DoomLight (Newbie) 23 July 2008 22:29
does anybody really care? i mean seriously. a defunct systems controller and a slight rip of the PS2 controller is an infringement. blah sounds like some company is desperate for money [ + quote]
DXR88 (Member) 24 July 2008 1:24
its funny Why they only chose to take Nintendo to court when the PS3 Six axis, and xbox controller, all allow for a six point movement. bloody retards suing everything you can, btw how the hell to you patient mechanics on a controller. thats like patenting the birthing process of an infant if its nose is tiled to the right the family owe's you money . this is getting out of hand. [ + quote]
CF01 (Junior Member) 24 July 2008 1:30
you cant really sell any systems without any controllers [ + quote]
kingy1213 (Member) 24 July 2008 7:16
i dont get this what did nintendo do wrong? [ + quote]
ikari (Newbie) 24 July 2008 11:02
*Originally posted by kingy1213:* i dont get this what did nintendo do wrong? Nintendo's controller violated a patent held by Anascape Ltd. Because of this, Anascape can sue and get money for it. *Sigh I agree with a few of the post that state that the patent system is out of control. [ + quote]
core2kid (Senior Member) 24 July 2008 11:57
So I'm guessing my 2 GC controllers that work like new will be worth a lot in the future? [ + quote]
kingy1213 (Member) 26 July 2008 0:54
is this an american thing? will it effect me in australia? [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 26 July 2008 1:02
nin didn't do its home work between anascape and the WEE mote trademark issue, their goign to be pissing out a few million to keep things rolling. http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/07/24/n...ailer-pressured For all the console/game fanboys out their. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles...Console-Rundown Oh god I can't stop laughing!!! --- And for the format nazi's I bring you HHD DVVD BVD's!! [ + quote]