Nintendo wins Wii patent case
Summary
Topics
A judge struck down spurious allegations that the Wii could play DVD movies.
"We are very pleased with the Court's decision," Nintendo of America senior vice president of legal Rick Flamm said in a statement. "Nintendo vigorously defends patent lawsuits. At the earliest stages of this case, Nintendo convinced the court to dismiss this case as Guardian's patent had nothing to do with Nintendo's products."
Flamm is correct about the suit having nothing to do with Nintendo's products. The Wii maker was one of dozens of defendants in the suit, which alleged violations of Guardian's patent for parental control technology in TV programs and DVD video playback. While the Wii does include parental control functions, it does not feature DVD video playback. Nintendo's early dismissal from the case comes a scant six months after the suit was first filed.
Earlier this year, a federal judge in Texas dismissed a patent suit against Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. That suit was brought by Fenner Investments and centered around a patent the firm holds for a "low-voltage joystick port interface." It was originally filed in January of 2007.
This article was originally posted on GameSpot News.
Talkback Most Recent of 5 Talkback(s)
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Wii DVDs
How do you play DVDs on the Wii? Can you respond to me, Brendan
Sinclair?
matthewm1212th Jun 2009 -
Um, did you READ the article?
Perhaps I can help you...
"While the Wii does include parental control
functions, it does not feature DVD video
playback."
Reply_account13th Jun 2009 -
Wii can play DVD's
The Wii can play DVD's if its soft modded. Just follow the instructions on the below site:
http://lifehacker.com/400581/hack-your-wii-for-homebrew-apps-and-dvd-playback
This article now helps me understand why Nintendo didn't do this themselves.
darrenedmonds13th Jun 2009 -
RE: Nintendo wins Wii patent case
Patents exist only for money, but now it is time to focus on using Technology to relieve the need for money itself.
All patents must be voided to clear the path for this. There will (un)naturally be opposition to reversing the concept of a patent, but holders can take comfort in the simple truth that they are human, too.
Once we've successfully applied technology to relieve the need for money, current patent holders will no longer require all that is currently earned through the incredibly destructive practice of outlawing entire arenas of productivity and innovation.
blog.floogy.com12th Jun 2009 -
Re: RE: Nintendo wins Wii patent case
Right, because that is logical.
Patents may provide a monopoly right, but they also provide inventors with an incentive to share their inventions with the world.
Greed is the problem here, not patenting.
zdneter000015th Jun 2009
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