Wii Remote

In a press release sent out today, Nintendo has announced that a patent asserted against technology found within the Wii Remote has been deemed invalid.

The ruling comes from a federal court in Dallas and nullifies a $10.1 million jury award against Nintendo from way back in 2017. According to the release, "the court concluded that iLife Technologies Inc. was impermissibly trying to cover the broad concept of using motion sensors to detect motion".

The battle between Nintendo and iLife Technologies Inc. has been going on for some time; this newly invalidated patent was the last of six that iLife Technologies Inc. originally asserted against Nintendo in 2013. The other five were also found to be invalid in 2016.

Ajay Singh, Nintendo of America’s Deputy General Counsel, has shared some fighting words in response to the news:

"Nintendo has a long history of developing new and unique products, and we are pleased that, after many years of litigation, the court agreed with Nintendo. We will continue to vigorously defend our products against companies seeking to profit off of technology they did not invent."


Update: An intellectual property attorney has weighed in on the court ruling, describing it as "a warning to patentees".