Court overturns 2014 3DS lawsuit, Nintendo no longer has to pay royalties
Update (4/26): Bumped to the top. Nintendo has now made this 100% official with the following announcement:
REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– On Sunday, April 24, 2016, federal Judge Jed Rakoff in New York ruled that the Nintendo 3DS does not infringe a patent on 3D display technology originally asserted against Nintendo by plaintiffs Tomita Technologies USA, Inc. and Tomita Technologies International, Inc. in 2011. Judge Rakoff’s ruling follows Nintendo’s successful appeal of an earlier verdict, and is the result of a 2015 re-trial. This decision fully reverses and corrects a 2013 verdict against Nintendo. Specifically, Judge Rakoff found that the Nintendo 3DS performs in a significantly different way and does more than was contemplated by the Tomita patent.
“We are very pleased with the court’s finding that Nintendo does not infringe,” said Ajay Singh, Nintendo of America’s Director of Litigation and Compliance. “Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products, and we aggressively defend patent lawsuits when our products do not infringe, even when we must do it over many years and through multiple trials.”
Original (4/25): In January 2014, a U.S. judge ruled that Nintendo would need to pay Tomita Technologies 1.82 percent of the wholesale price on every 3DS sold. This was due to a lawsuit that sprung up involving 3D camera technology apparently used without permission.
A new article from Nikkei now reveals that the court’s previously decision has been overturned, and Nintendo has won the case. It’s been determined that the 3DS did not infringe on the patent. In a statement, Nintendo said the ruling affirms the company’s original assertion, and is an appropriate decision.
