Asia IP

On June 13, 2014, a federal appeals court in the United States confirmed that a patent asserted against Nintendo by Triton Tech of Texas is invalid. In a lawsuit filed in 2010, Triton alleged that Nintendo’s Wii Remote controller infringed one of Triton’s patents: US Patent No. 5181181. Judge Richard A. Jones of the Seattle district court previously dismissed the lawsuit after finding that the patent did not adequately describe a complete invention, and was therefore invalid. The June 13 federal appeals court ruling upheld that previous dismissal.

“We are very pleased with this result,” said Richard Medway, Nintendo of America’s deputy general counsel. “Nintendo has a long tradition of developing unique and innovative products, while respecting the intellectual property rights of others. Nintendo continues to aggressively defend itself against patent trolls. After many years of litigation, the decision today reflects an appropriate resolution of this case.”