Court Denies Appeal In $21m Nintendo Patent Suit

Following a decision in May that ordered Nintendo to pay Texas company Anascape $21 million for patent infringements, legal firm McKool Smith has announced that a judge has denied Nintendo's appeal for a lesser penalty. The lawsuit was originally filed in 2006 against both Nintendo and Microsoft, for twelve different game hardware and controller related patents, primarily centered around the use of force feedback and analogue sensor technology within games controllers. For Nintendo's part, the suit centered primarily on the GameCube and WaveBird controllers, and later the Wii Classic Controller. Additionally, the latest release from the firm adds the Wii Remote to the list of infringing devices. In May, Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta was quoted by the Associated Press saying Nintendo expected the court to “significantly” reduce the penalty on its appeal, but McKool Smith has said that on June 26th, a Texas District Court "denied the defendant's motion for a reduced verdict, finding that the jury's award is supported by the evidence." Said the firm's principal and lead counsel for Anascape, "We appreciate the Court's thoughtful consideration in upholding the jury's decision. Although not a giant corporation like Nintendo, Anascape has every right to protect its technology."