Nintendo Faces Another Wii Lawsuit

This One Could Threaten Console Sales

Think you can’t find a Wii now?  If a lawsuit just filed by Hillcrest Laboratories holds, you won’t be able to find one anywhere.

The company has alleged Nintendo violated patent infringement in two separate complaints–one in civil court, one with the US International Trade Commission.

Says Bloomberg on the matter:

Three of the Hillcrest patents are for motion-control technology and a fourth is for graphical interface software used on the television. Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo makes the Wii, a machine that plays games by swinging a motion-sensing controller like a bat, tennis racket or other item.

Rockville-based Hillcrest said it licenses its motion- control technology, called Freespace, to Logitech International SA, Universal Electronics Inc. and other companies. The graphic interface technology, called Home, is licensed to companies that Hillcrest declined to name.

“While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights,” the company said in a statement.

While the ITC complaint is expected to take fifteen months to process, if it holds, the organization can block the sale and import and Nintendo Wii consoles.  Not helping a defense case is a looming decision to block the sale of Wii Classic controllers, pending a Texas court decision stemming from a $21 million judgment against Nintendo.  Other suits are pending in Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Wilimgton, Delaware, as well as another in Texas.

Developments on this front will be very slow, but we’ll be sure to follow up on them.