ITC Takes On Wii Patent Infringement

Could Wii No Longer be for Sale in the States?

Suddenly, the legal troubles for Nintendo are much more profound.

The International Trade Commission has agreed to take on a complaint filed last month by Hillcrest Laboratories.  They allege that the Nintendo Wii violates four patents they hold.

The move means the feds will have to look at all components of the complaint and judge whether there is a violation of law.  A timetable will be released within 45 days.  If any action is taken, it will happen 60 days after a decision is rendered by the ITC.

The ITC is making very clear that the decision of an investigation does not reflect on the merits of Hillcrest’s case.  Still, in a worst-case scenario, the ITC can bar the Nintendo Wii from being sold in the Unied States, in effect destroying the hopes of millions still clamoring for one.

The ITC’s announcement is below.  We will continue to follow this story closely, as it has become much more serious.  The ramifications for the industry, should a decision be rendered against Nintendo, could be  crippling, as it relates to the growing casual gaming market.

ITC INSTITUTES SECTION 337 INVESTIGATION ON CERTAIN VIDEO GAME MACHINES AND RELATED THREE-DIMENSIONAL POINTING DEVICES

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has voted to institute an investigation of certain video game machines and related three-dimensional pointing devices. The products at issue in this investigation are “Wii” video game systems and accompanying remote controls.

The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc., Rockville, MD, on August 20, 2008. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States of certain video game machines and related three-dimensional pointing devices that infringe patents owned by Hillcrest. The complainant requests that the ITC issue an exclusion order and a cease and desist order.

The ITC has identified the following as respondents in this investigation:

Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Japan; and
Nintendo of America, Inc., of Redmond, WA.

By instituting this investigation (337-TA-658), the ITC has not yet made any decision on the merits of the case. The ITC’s Chief Administrative Law Judge will assign the case to one of the ITC’s five administrative law judges (ALJ), who will schedule and hold an evidentiary hearing. The ALJ will make an initial determination as to whether there is a violation of section 337; that initial determination is subject to review by the Commission.

The ITC will make a final determination in the investigation at the earliest practicable time. Within 45 days after institution of the investigation, the ITC will set a target date for completing the investigation. ITC remedial orders in section 337 cases are effective when issued and become final 60 days after issuance unless disapproved for policy reasons by the U.S. Trade Representative within that 60-day period.