Last week we reported on the Philips Electronics vs. Nintendo case filed in the UK, where a UK judge ruled in Philips’ favor in the patent infringement case. Nintendo UK has responded to the ruling, issuing a statement that it plans to appeal the court case win. Nintendo states that it is committed ensuring that this ruling has no affect on Wii U and 3DS hardware and software while they pursue the court case.
“On 20 June 2014, following a trial heard before Mr Justice Birss, the UK Patents Court found that the Wii, Wii U and Wii Remote infringe two patents (’498 and ’650) asserted against Nintendo by Philips Electronics. The ’498 and ’650 patents were held to be invalid as originally granted, but Philips Electronics were permitted to make validating amendments during the course of the litigation.
“A further patent (’484) was asserted by Philips Electronics but was found to be invalid. Nintendo firmly believes that the amended ’498 and ’650 patents are invalid and intends to seek permission to appeal Mr Justice Birss’ judgment. Philips Electronics has yet to make clear whether it intends to seek permission to appeal any part of the judgment.
“Nintendo is committed to ensuring that this judgment does not affect continued sales of its highly acclaimed line of video game hardware, software and accessories and will actively pursue all such legitimate steps as are necessary to avoid any interruptions to its business. Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others.”
As you can see Nintendo actually provides information about the patents, which Philips Electronics has not done since the original case was filed. The first two patents would affect both Wii and Wii U sales, so it’s important that Nintendo do what it can to appeal this decision before an injunction is placed on the sale of those products inside the UK.
