Slashdot Mirror


Controller Patent Suit Won Against Sony

ivec writes "Immersion Corporation announced that the jury returned a verdict favorable to Immersion in its patent infringement suit against Sony Computer Entertainment. The jury found that Sony infringed all the asserted claims of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,275,213 and 6,424,333 and that those claims were valid. I was surprised how recent these filings were (2000 and 2001). The patents cover 'vibrating devices' such as joysticks."

4 of 38 comments (clear)

  1. n64? by j0nb0y · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I guess USPTO patent examiners have never played the N64 with a rumble pack...

    --
    If you had super powers, would you use them for good, or for awesome?
    1. Re:n64? by rsilvergun · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Or Operation Wolf. Or any of the dozens of Arcade games from the 80's/90's that had force feed back. How the hell did Sony lose this one? Did they give up hoping this company would charge patent fees to competitors and drive 'em out of business? Seems pretty far fetched, but not as far fetched as Sony droping the ball on this one.

      --
      Hi! I make Firefox Plug-ins. Check 'em out @ https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/youtube-mp3-podcaster/
  2. Or the patents Nintendo has had since 87. by Viewsonic · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I dont think they research any of this anymore.

  3. Re:Say it ain't so, Dual-Shock... by karstux · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It most certainly won't go away. I'm sure Immersion will graciously grant Sony the right to use "their" incredibly inventive "technology" in the Dual-Shock controller as soon as Sony forks over the right amount of cash.

    This is also known as 'licensing'.

    (ACK on the Dual-Shock being the best design ever, by the way...)

    --
    Don't whistle while you're pissing.