Earlier this year in May, Philips sued Nintendo and claimed that the Wii and Wii U infringed on several motion-tracking patents that the company holds. In the court case, a judge ruled in favor of Philips, citing that Nintendo did infringe on the patents listed. Nintendo vowed to appeal the decision, but has now settled with Philips by establishing a global patent licensing agreement. This will settle all dispute between the two companies and allow them to cross license each other’s patents.
Despite reaching an agreement to license patents globally, neither specific details or financial terms for the agreement have been made public and will not be disclosed. Matrina Franke of Nintendo of Europe commented on the settlement, stating that Nintendo is pleased to have settled the matter.
We are pleased to have reached agreement with Philips, as it demonstrates that both companies recognize the importance of intellectual property rights. Nintendo has a substantial IP portfolio and a long history of developing innovative products while respecting valid intellectual property rights of others.
Because of this settlement, neither the Wii or the Wii U will be banned in any region, saving Nintendo the headache of fighting an appeal decision in court.
