Game Controller Firm Splitfish Wins Injunction Against Chinese 'Clone' Controller

Switzerland-based gaming accessory company SplitFish GameWare, Inc and its partners SplitFish AG and Nabon Corp won a preliminary injunction in a Virginia court ruling against Bannco Corp.. The ruling prohibits Bannco from selling video game controllers that make use of software code directly copied from SplitFish's "FragFX" line of controllers. Bannco Corp. is currently distributing two controllers in the style of the SplitFish split mouse and analog controller two-part FragFX line for PC and consoles -- with Bannco's own brands being called the "Fragnstein" for PlayStation 3 and PC and "Scorch" for Xbox 360 and PC. The Eastern Virginia District Court ruled that SplitFish parent company Nabon Corp. was the owner of original software code used by Bannco, and that a further copyright infringement claim might hold enough weight to win the case. According the the judge, Bannco's sales of these controllers would cause harm to SplitFish's sales of their own FragFX line and they should be removed from the market for that reason. Copyright lawyers Finnegan represented Nabon and pushed for the injunction, and made a case for SplitFish by arguing that Bannco's sales of these products would damage SplitFish's profits. SplitFish itself, talking in an official press release following the ruling, claims that Bannco's controllers were specifically designed "to mimic the SplitFish FragFX design and function".