UPDATED: Exclusive - Nintendo Says Wii Lawsuit Has Not Been Filed
Announced lawsuit a lie?
Update: Hillcrest Laboratories has responded to SPOnG's request for comment, telling us, "This is a normal part of the legal process here. Hillcrest filed at both the ITC and US District court. There is then a short period of time before agents of the court serve them."
Just to avoid any confusion, what this means is that filings have been made, just not served yet.
Nintendo has told SPOnG that the widely reported patent infringement lawsuit against it by Hillcrest Laboratories has not actually been filed.
When SPOnG approached Nintendo for comment on the lawsuit, which claims the Wii's motion-sensing controls infringes several of its patents, we were told, "We have not been served with any lawsuit or other action by Hillcrest and therefore have no comment."
Strangely, Hillcrest made an official statement on Wednesday claiming that it filed the lawsuit. It stated that a complaint had been filed with the US International Trade Commission, while a separate patent infringement suit was filed with the US District Court in Maryland.
Exactly why Hillcrest is saying it filed a suit but Nintendo has not received it is unclear. SPOnG has contacted it for a response, but none was available at the time of press.
In its Wednesday statement, the company said, "Leading consumer electronics companies, not all of whom have been disclosed publicly, have already licensed Hillcrest's technology for use in their products. 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. Given the current status of the filings, the company will not disclose any additional details."
This is not the first time Nintendo has been mixed up in court dealings relating to patent infringement nor, no doubt, will it be the last. Back in May the hardware manufacturer was ordered to pay $21 million (£10.8 million) for patent infringement relating to its controllers to Anascape, a Texas-based company. The Wii Remote was not included in that suit.
Just to avoid any confusion, what this means is that filings have been made, just not served yet.
Nintendo has told SPOnG that the widely reported patent infringement lawsuit against it by Hillcrest Laboratories has not actually been filed.
When SPOnG approached Nintendo for comment on the lawsuit, which claims the Wii's motion-sensing controls infringes several of its patents, we were told, "We have not been served with any lawsuit or other action by Hillcrest and therefore have no comment."
Strangely, Hillcrest made an official statement on Wednesday claiming that it filed the lawsuit. It stated that a complaint had been filed with the US International Trade Commission, while a separate patent infringement suit was filed with the US District Court in Maryland.
Exactly why Hillcrest is saying it filed a suit but Nintendo has not received it is unclear. SPOnG has contacted it for a response, but none was available at the time of press.
In its Wednesday statement, the company said, "Leading consumer electronics companies, not all of whom have been disclosed publicly, have already licensed Hillcrest's technology for use in their products. 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. Given the current status of the filings, the company will not disclose any additional details."
This is not the first time Nintendo has been mixed up in court dealings relating to patent infringement nor, no doubt, will it be the last. Back in May the hardware manufacturer was ordered to pay $21 million (£10.8 million) for patent infringement relating to its controllers to Anascape, a Texas-based company. The Wii Remote was not included in that suit.
Companies:
Nintendo
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