At this point, one must ask how many pre-existing patents could have possibly covered different elements of Nintendo’s “revolutionary” Wii controller. After getting hammered with a $21 million patent infringement verdict in May, Nintendo will once again find itself in court defending its motion controller. This time, Motiva, LLC claims that it owns a 2004 patent (U.S. Patent No. 7,292,151) that protects technology used in the Nintendo Wii. A press release from The Lanier Law Firm, Motiva’s representation, states:
The asserted patent involves technology used to create a “Human Movement Measurement System” comprising a hand-held tracking device in communication with a base station that can be used to create an interactive gaming experience, among other capabilities. Nintendo’s Wii video game system uses an interactive hand-held remote in communication with a base station to reproduce users’ movements on televisions and other display screens.
I will be interested to see how this one pans out. Honestly, Nintendo has made enough money off of the Wii that settling this case would be wise. The full press release is available here.
