Nintendo wins patent troll’s appeal and can keep selling the Wii U
An attraction company has lost its appeal to block the importation of Nintendo’s Wii U.
Creative Kingdoms, the company that owns the MagiQuest live-action role-playing theme park-like locations, filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission asking it to prevent Nintendo from bringing the Wii U to the U.S. Creative Kingdoms claims that the Wii U infringes on motion and touchscreen technology that it owns the patents to. The ITC sided with Nintendo and now a federal court has agreed with that finding during the appeal.
“We are pleased with the court’s determination,” Nintendo of America deputy general counsel Richard Medway said. “Nintendo’s track record demonstrates that we vigorously defend patent lawsuits, particularly when the patents are being stretched beyond the inventors’ ideas. Nintendo continues to develop unique and innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others.”
Nintendo argued that the United States Patent and Trademark Office never should have granted Creative Kingdoms’ patents in the first place. The game maker claimed that Creative Kingdoms tried to get coverage over ideas it didn’t actually invent. After reviewing the documentation, the ITC found that was indeed the case.
This is not the first time that a smaller company has tried to “patent troll” Nintendo. Earlier this year, Nintendo brushed off a suit from the company Triton that was trying to get money from Nintendo over the Wii Remote. The company Wall Wireless tried suing Nintendo over the wireless functionality in the DS and DSi handheld systems. But Nintendo lost a case against U.K. electronics firm Phillips in June involving motion, gesture, and pointing controls.
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