Sony, Nintendo, Nokia Sued Over Wireless Technology

Sony, Nokia and Nintendo are once again at the wrong end of a lawsuit, this one complaining that the wireless connectivity of their handheld gaming devices infringes on the copyright of a company from Plano, Texas.

Wall Wireless LLC is suing the companies for violating its "Method and Apparatus for Creating and Distributing Real-Time Interactive Media Content Through Wireless Communication Networks and the Internet" patent, which Edge says "pertains ... to methods and systems that allow an operator to distribute messages having aural or visual content that is generated by the operator using handheld apparatuses such as mobile telephones." The patent was issued by the U.S. Patent Office in 2003.

The company claims that the PSP, DS, Nokia's N81, N82, N93 and N95 devices as well as real-time online games like Mario Kart, WipeOut Pulse and Reset Generation all infringement upon the patent. Each of the defendants were notified of the patent last year yet apparently none of them have made an attempt to properly license the technology. As a result, the filing said, ""Unless a permanent injunction is issued enjoining Defendants from infringing the '086 patent, Wall Wireless will be irreparably harmed."

And what will make Wall Wireless feel better about all this? Why, money, of course. "As a result of Defendants' infringement of the '086 patent, Wall Wireless has suffered monetary damages that are compensable... by no less than a reasonable royalty," the company claimed. It also seeks damages, costs, expenses, attorneys' fees and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest.

Neither Sony, Nintendo nor Nokia have commented on the action.

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typical "hey look, we patented something that we haven't used and now they developed something that's kinda like it...LETS SUE EM!

Dear god not again. I really wish I had more to say but this has happend so much in 2008 and it starts again in 2009.

Malygris:
Neither Sony, Nintendo nor Nokia have commented on the action.

I'm guessing it's because of the fact that they couldn't care less? They probably just can't take it seriously anymore.

Oh crums, double post by mistake!

Wait, so they were aloud to patent mobile wireless technology... And that lets then sue anyone that creates anything mobile that uses wireless internet? Thats a friggin' joke, thats like patenting water, then till the water market is doing well (as I assume they did for the PSP, DS, N81, N82, N93 and N95) then sue everyone that has used water in anyway, ever.

Oh how I love the US patent system.

"Here's our new design!"

"Is anyone already selling it?"

"No one American,"

"Who designed it?"

"No one American"

"Here's your patent son, use it responsibly,"

Maybe they should change the rules so that for a patent to stick it has to be used as intended within 2 years of being filed.

We need an eminent domain law for intellectual property so that copyrights and patents don't count until you use them.

And this is the the entire idea of patenting things is retarded.

What does patenting do?, it slows evolution and technology by making sure not everyone who wants to can take part of information and technology just because someone else invented it.

What good does it do?, beats me, i have no idea why the system is even active anymore, because its stupid.

Think about it, why do you think that Linux has become such a big and great OS?, Because it is Open Source, meaning everyone can take part of the information, making sure that there will always be improvements made to it, and that's just one example of where Open Source is better than patenting.

I lol'd :P

Let me get this straight... some asshole, that crawled out of a hole somewhere on the planet, decided to SUE (!) the mega-giant corporations Nintendo, Sony and Nokia? Companies that make BILLIONS a year??? Now I can express my feelings on this subject in a few simple words. DOUBLE-YOU TEE EFF!!!!

Well I am not surprised really... I heard someone sued God himself once...

Fronken:
And this is the the entire idea of patenting things is retarded.

What does patenting do?, it slows evolution and technology by making sure not everyone who wants to can take part of information and technology just because someone else invented it.

What good does it do?, beats me, i have no idea why the system is even active anymore, because its stupid.

Once upon a time the patent system was invaluable. Before it came out, often people would keep their processes secret in order to preserve their advantage over their competitors... and then they'd die without passing on these secrets. (That's why we still don't know how Stradivarius made such great violins, for example.) When patents came along, they offered the originators the ability to benefit from their improved techniques without risking them being lost... if the technique was really useful, others could use it right away by "renting" it from the creator or they could wait until the patent lapsed and the technique became public domain.

The problem is that the patent systems around the world are being swamped by their own success; too many applications too quickly, so overly-vague or obviously-done or plainly-stupid patents leak through. Also, the rate of innovation has increased so much that many patents are obsolete by the time they become public domain. As a result companies have found ways to "grief" the patent system and make money, and that's the big problem.

I'm reluctant to throw it out, because we run the risk of returning to the bad old days of trade secretism, but I do agree that the patent system needs retuning pretty badly.

-- Steve

Russian_Assassin:

Well I am not surprised really... I heard someone sued God himself once...

And they made a movie about it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268437/

How does this nut job expect to win? These companies make billions a year and they probably will have an army of the best lawyers around.

Doesn't that patent basically state what a telephone is? Also I doubt that with all the International Standards that are around for computers that this sort of claim should hold up.

Good luck dude, sueing them is like trying to punch out Cthulhu.

When someone files a "crazy" lawsuit, people go up in arms about it.

When the plaintiff looses or has his claim dismissed because it is crazy, nobody is listening anymore. They are too busy complaining about how the system doesn't work.

The vast majority of crazy lawsuits fail very quickly. If they are frivolous enough, the lawyer who filed it can be punished (and yes it does happen). The few that succeed almost always get reversed on appeal. The rest really AREN'T crazy when you look at the facts of the case instead of the headline.

The moral is not to jump to conclusions.