Nintendo Wins One Suit, Gets Hit with Another

It seems that the legal department at hardware manufacturer and videogame developer Nintendo can't get a quiet week. Just as the company reported winning one court case linked to patent infringement, another one, IA Labs, has filed a court case against both Nintendo Japan and Nintendo of America.

IA Labs claims the two entities infringed on its patents when creating the technology powering the Nintendo Wii, the Wii Balance Board, the Wii Remote, the Wii Wheel, the Wii MotionPlus add on, the Nunchuck and the Wii Zapper. Titles like Wii Fit and Wii Fit Plus are also mentioned, mainly because of the way they combine fitness and videogames.

Court documents that have been seen by Gamasutra show IA Labs saying it has come under “continued infringement” and has been “irreparably harmed” by Nintendo and the way it conducted business. IA Labs manufactures devices like Kilowatt Sport, the Exer-Station controller, Exer-Station Pro and the PowerSquad Leg Joystick.

The patents named in the lawsuit are for “Computer interactive isometric exercise system and method for operatively interconnecting the exercise system to a computer system for use as a peripheral” and “Force measurement system for an isometric exercise device.” IA Labs also states that it offered to license its tech to Nintendo in 2007 and that it aims to obtain an injunction against the company and unspecified damages.

Nintendo announced a few days ago that it had won a similar patent suit linked with the way its controllers are built. Seeing the success of the Nintendo Wii, currently the best selling home console of its generation, the company is getting more and more attention from those that register patents with wide ranging applications and that seek to get a share of the profits the Japanese giant made with its innovative gaming device.