Nintendo Sued Over Wii Remote
According to DailyTech, Nintendo has been hit with the patent infringement lawsuit over its Wii controllers. Interlink Electronics is suing Nintendo over the Wii Remote’s trigger button, which Interlink claims to be its own original patented design. The Wii Remote trigger is similar to the Z-trigger found on the Nintendo 64, which was released in North America on September 29, 1996. Interlink filed its patent for its trigger operated electronic device on September 17, 1997. The N64 controller shows that Nintendo had the trigger design in its labs long before Interlink patented its idea.
Interlink Electronics is suing Nintendo over the Wii Remote’s trigger button, which Interlink claims to be its own original patented design (patent no. 6,850,221). Interlink states in its filing:“Nintendo has made, used, offered for sale and sold in the United States, and continues to make, use, offer for sale and sell in the United States one or more controllers which activities infringe, induce others to infringe, and/or contributorily infringe the ‘221 patent.”
Interlink goes on to state that it is seeking compensation for “loss of reasonable royalties, reduced sales and/or lost profits as a result of the infringing activities.” To read the entire legal filing, see the story on Kotaku.
On the topic of triggers, the Wii Remote trigger feels and operates in a similar fashion to the Z-trigger found on the Nintendo 64, which was released in North America on September 29, 1996. Interlink filed its patent for its trigger operated electronic device on September 17, 1997. While the three-pronged N64 controller is much differently shaped than a remote, it shows that Nintendo had the trigger design in its labs long before Interlink patented its idea.
Source: DailyTech
