Nintendo loses $10-million in long-running Wiimote patent lawsuit

Since 2013, Nintendo has been fighting a legal battle in Texas against a company called iLife.

The patent infringement case was originally brought forth because iLife believed Nintendo utilized one of its proprietary technologies in the Wiimote controller for the Wii console. Nintendo’s Wii was originally released back in 2006 and is one of the company’s best selling consoles to date.

iLife says it originally developed the motion sensing technology it claims Nintendo utilized in its Wiimotes in order to detect when elderly people have fallen, or to monitor babies in an effort to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The initial suit requested $144 million USD in damages, which amounts to approximately $4 for every Wii system Nintendo sold in the U.S. Globally, the company sold 101 million Wii consoles in total.

Although iLife was not awarded the requested $144 million, Nintendo has been requested to pay $10 million in the case. Nintendo, unsurprisingly, maintains that its Wiimote does not infringe on any patents. The Japanese video game giant says that it will appeal the ruling and continue to fight the case.

iLife has also filed a similar suit against companies like Fitbit and Under Armour, claiming both those companies infringed on its patents. Fitbit and Under Armour have both settled out of court.

It’s worth noting that iLife’s suit also covered technology utilized in Nintendo’s Wii U.

Source: The Rolling Stone