Board finds that Nintendo Joy-Cons don't infringe on Gamevice controller patents

The Patent Trial and Appeal Board has sided with Nintendo in a 2018 patent dispute, ultimately deciding that 19 of the claims brought against it by accessory maker Gamevice are invalid.

The decision ends one chapter of Gamevice’s multiple attempts to argue Nintendo copied the design of Gamevice’s Wikipad detachable controllers for the Nintendo Switch’s own Joy-Cons, a claim Gamevice has also brought to court and the US International Trade Commission in the past.

Documents published by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board show that much of the decision boils down to how Nintendo was able to refute each of the claims brought against it, with few substantial arguments from Gamevice to counter.

Much of the back and forth covers the key structural features of Gamevice’s patent, though the final decision notes Nintendo “has demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that claim 1 is unpatentable.” Those curious about how the entire argument went down can find the full hearing transcript and decision on the PTAB website.

“Nintendo also shows persuasively how the combined teachings of Willner and Park meet the limitations of dependent claims 2–10 and 13–21,” reads that final decision. “In response, Gamevice does not contest Nintendo’s showing that these dependent claims are unpatentable, nor does Gamevice offer any other argument or evidence in support of patentability. “