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Nintendo "Leaving Inventor Out in the Cold"
By Kris Graft
November 12, 2008
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"For the person that is actually harmed to also be called a 'troll' simply because big business doesn't like it when they're called on their conduct, I think is despicable."
Earlier this year, Nintendo was ordered by a federal jury to pay $21 million to Anascape Ltd. for infringing on game controller-related patents.
This week, another company called Motiva has filed suit against Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo, claiming the motion-sensing Wii console has infringed on the patent "Human Movement Measurement System." The patent holders are suing for a preliminary and permanent injunction against alleged infringements, damages and attorney fees.
Already, some gamers have been shrieking "patent troll," insinuating Motiva is in the business of creating a vague patent and suing supposedly offending companies for large amounts of money.
But Motiva's attorneys tell Edge that's not the case at all, claiming that the small Ohio-based company is a legitimate business.
"Motiva is not a patent troll," said Chris Banys with Lanier Law Firm during a phone interview. "A 'patent troll' is sort of a loosely-defined term, but I would say the most common use of the term 'patent troll' is to describe a small inventor who invents something and sues a big company.
"Big companies don't like to be sued. They also don't like to pay small inventors when a small inventor actually has invented something."
He claimed the company is not just "sitting on" the patent.
Banys said that Motiva "worked hard" on the patent over the years and tried to market the product described. "They actually spent some of their time trying to interest people in trying to potentially buy a product from them."
He continued, "It's a very derogatory thing. For the person that is actually harmed to also be called a 'troll' simply because big business doesn't like it when they're called on their conduct, I think is despicable."
Motiva's patent describes an invention that would be primarily intended for exercise and rehabilitation as opposed to entertainment, although videogaming is mentioned as one possible application.
But the application of the patent isn't what counts in court, said the attorney. "While you see in the specifications and descriptions of exercise [in the patent]--by the way, Nintendo is marketing their product for exercise uses--the invention is certainly not limited only to exercise or rehabilitation.
"As long as you're making a product that performs all the elements of a claim in a patent, you're infringing a patent."
In Banys' view, Nintendo is trying to take advantage of the little guy.
"Big companies would rather go out there without doing the right thing. They'd rather not buy the license, make a lot of money, and leave the person that actually invented the thing out in the cold."
Nintendo is currently in the process of preparing a statement on the case, but did not have a response as of press time.
Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto stated in a 2006 BusinessWeek interview that Nintendo began work on a new gaming interface in 2001, just after the launch of the GameCube. The designer said by "early 2004, early 2005," the controller's shape, nunchuck attachment, motion sensor, infrared pointer and button layout were already in place.
Motiva's patent was originally filed in July 2005. Nintendo Wii launched in November 2006.
"Nintendo I'm sure will have good lawyers who have interesting stories to tell of their own," Banys said. "Our guys are the owners of this patent. If you look at who owns the patent and who doesn't, Motiva owns this patent because Motiva invented this thing. The U.S. patent and trademark office says so."
That's the trouble with patents. Although it encourages innovation by protecting the financial interests of inventors it also slows down innovation by preventing the use a patented technology in other inventions. If the engineers at Nintendo spent more time checking if they were violation patents rather than designing a innovative game machine like the Nintendo Wii we'd probably still be stuck with an analog stick. Had Nintendo asked permission first, I'm sure they'd be at weaker bargaining position. Now that the Wii is out making money, they'll have a bigger budget for their legal department and enough reserves in case they lose these cases which in the end I think Nintendo will end up buying these patents.
if they prove that they designed they're controller before the patent was filed they'll win the case. but can they counter sue for slander?
"They actually spent some of their time trying to interest people in trying to potentially buy a product from them."
So has every lazy nimrod in the pub with an "invention."
Motiva's patent is for a physical therapy device they never actually built, and it was filed long after Nintendo designed the Wii controller. This is NOT a case of a big corporation taking advantage of a plucky independent visionary. It's a case of scuzzballs and lawyers trying to strike it rich on the back of a successful company's hard work and creativity. In other words, the very definition of a patent troll.
Damn if only i had put in that patent for my virtual tea-bagging simulator, 12 year old Americans would owe me billions...
What I find interesting about these law suits is that these companies have taken so long to actually do this. When you're in a business, don't you look around you and keep track of what other businesses are doing? And if a certain business is "stealing" your idea or releasing an idea very similar to your, earlier patented, one - don't you immediately take action to prevent this company from making money from it? In all these cases, it constantly seems like these companies finally decide to sue *after* the product became very successful... and that makes it all slightly less believable to me.
what a lot of people do is come up with an idea, then they wait for a big company to have the same idea, once the big company starts making alot of money than the little guys say they stole the idea, it happens a lot actually.
why "block" the release of it, when you can wait a while and get a piece of the pie as well?
Here's what's wrong with these suits. NINTENDO IS FROM JAPAN!
Japanese are a million years away from North Americans and Europeans when it comes to technology. Nintendo doesn't need they don't need the help of any American company (big or small) to be innovative.
No matter who you are and what ideas you may have, there's always going to be someone else who will think of the same thing and will have the money and resources to do something with it. This company should just accept the fact that they weren't able to make anything out of their idea before Nintendo instead of trying to mooch. They may not be patent trolls, but being a mooch is just as worst in my book.
Here's what's wrong with these suits. NINTENDO IS FROM JAPAN!
I've never heard so much nonsense in all my life. It doesn't matter if Nintendo are from "Japan", they're trolling patents that someone else has the rights of.
Japanese are a million years away from North Americans and Europeans when it comes to technology.
Ever heard of Philips, Nokia, Apple, Microsoft, Motorola, BMW, Audi and many other American and European companies who are pioneers (in terms of technology) in their field.
Your words simply come from that of a bickering fanboy.
Seriously, where are video games, PCs, the Internet, and most next gen games from again? Oh yeah, not Japan. They've got some cute robots and their cell phones used to be neat, though.
I think you've misunderstood the term "patent trolling".
With the number of patent infringements everyone is throwing forth suddenly, it's hard to take them seriously. If "Nintendo was ordered by a federal jury to pay $21 million to Anascape Ltd. for infringing on game controller-related patents," then how can Motiva ALSO have a patent for this technology? Why isn't Motiva going after Anascape Ltd? if it's already been proven that Nintendo infringed on their patent., wouldn't that mean that Anascape infringed on Motiva's patent then? Lordy this gets confusing!
Several patents can go into a single product such as a controller. The Anascape suit involved around a dozen different patents. This suit is focused on a technology unlike those described in Anascape's patents, but are still allegedly used in Nintendo's controller.
It is a bit confusing, but I hope that helps!
Yes it does. Thanks. Maybe a giant patent-infringing family tree would be in order, see who's patenting what. and suing whom.
I think the suit is for The exercice pad for Wii-fit.
It's what I have understood by their description as "an exercice device"; but i might be wrong
Check the link, it's the motion sensing controller.
I'll just throw this out there, why don't all these "companies" with their patents sue each other?
Oh right, these patent holders(and yes holders in every sense of the word) have not done anything with their inventions and have no money.
This reminds me of something, I once invented a writing utensil with an ink tube in it, but gosh...it didn't take off, so yeah years later I sued Bic for actually doing something with it.
Good point.
Not really a good point at all, because he didn't invent the pen and what someone does with their invention is their business--this company claims to have invented a technology that Nintendo is now making billions off of. It's for the courts to decide; your opinions are less than worthless.
Nintendo should pay the small guy!