Nintendo Might Be Banned from Selling Some Controllers

Nintendo has been for some time involved in a legal battle with Anascape Ltd, a company based in Tyler, Texas. The dispute was built around a patent that the company holds since the 1970's regarding the creation of controllers for game consoles that allow six axis movement. Both Microsoft and Sony are now licensing the Anaspace patent.

A recent decision from the judge presiding over the case orders Nintendo not to sell any of the controllers mentioned in the dispute. The targeted objects are the Wii Classic Controller, the WaveBird and the Game Cube controllers. Only the Classic Controller for the Nintendo Wii is at the moment in production and sold by the game company. For now the WaveBird and the Game Cube controllers can only be found on the second hand market and not directly from Nintendo, which means that selling and buying them is not a problem.

Charlie Scibetta, who is a spokesman for Nintendo has stated that his company "was already planning to appeal this case to the Federal Circuit court. The recent ruling by the trial court does not impact that decision." A legal representative for the plaintiff states that the ban will stay in effect for the duration of the appeal process while Nintendo claims that it will continue to sell the Wii Classic Controller. Further legal action might be brought against Nintendo if it infringes on the ban.

It's interesting to note that the Wiimote and the Nunchuk appear to also be infringing the Anaspace patent when they are used in conjunction with the Classic Controller but not when they are used alone. So while playing the Nintendo Wii in the comfort of your home, dear Softpedia reader, please pay attention to what controller you use. You might be breaking a patent and not even know it.