Nintendo (7974) – Is the Patent Suit a Problem? Yes, Quite Possibly
As night follows day, hit products invite patent suits. In one corner, there are the chancers, who hope that the link to their product, while tenuous, is sufficient to warrant being paid off by the other side, who will wish to avoid the hassle of a law suit. In another corner are those who genuinely believe that, in the right light, a link can be seen between their (presumably unsuccessful) effort, and the one which has succeeded. Further, there are those that did indeed invent a similar product; perhaps unbeknownst to the counterparty, perhaps known, it doesn't matter. What matters is whether the patent is infringed, and whether this can be proved in court.
Nintendo is being sued by California-based Gamevice. The latter alleges that the Switch violates US patent number 9,126,119 B2 ("119" for short). The 119 Patent relates to a game controller, including a computing device (e.g. a tablet), which is attached to an input device with two sides (e.g. a left portion of a controller and a right portion of a controller), a “structural bridge” (e.g. something to hold the back of the tablet), a conduit, and a fastening mechanism (e.g. structure to connect it all).
Key Points
- Many of the claims get very close to how the Nintendo Switch operates, notably Claim 7. However, all the claims require the existence of a structural bridge.
- Gamevice argues that the casing of the LCD screen is such a bridging device…
- …but we think the casing of the LCD is no more a structural bridge than is the casing of a smartphone or tablet.
- There has to be some sort of chance that this goes to court and that Gamevice then wins. If Nintendo looks to settle, given Gamevice's interest in seeing the Switch disappear, we think a settlement is going to be expensive.
- We provide details of the claims of the 119 patent in the Appendix.
Nintendo is mainly engaged in the development, manufacture, and sale of home-use game hardware/software and peripheral equipment as well as software under the name of "Nintendo DS," "Nintendo 3DS," "Game Boy," "Nintendo 64,"" Game Boy Advance," "Wii," "Nintendo GameCube," "Game Boy Color" and "e-Reader (trading card games)." Co.'s principal software trademarks include "Pokemon," "Super Mario Bros.," "The Legend of Zelda," "STARFOX64" and others. Co. also provides online games and repair services. In addition, Co. is involved in the manufacture and sale of Japanese playing cards called "Karuta," playing cards and board games, as well as the management of intellectual property rights.
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