14 DAY TRIAL // Sony has had quite a year with its PS3. First they were awarded... something, for the SIXAXIS' motion sensitivity functions, after which people started accusing them of stealing the technology from Nintendo, then there was the rumble issue, which they settled on with Immersion Corp. later on, and now California-based Target Technology Company is suing the electronics giant over patent rights for the Blu-ray technology.
It's almost like Sony want to get themselves into trouble. Why do you think that the PS3's SIXAXIS controller doesn't feature vibration functionality? It's only because of Immersion's suing them over patent rights for the rumble technology, which happened right when Sony was developing the $600 next-gen gaming console.
Today's news bring yet another company suing Sony over patent rights: Target Technology, for the Blu-ray technology, which Sony has apparently stolen, too. Gamepot reports that the suit, which names Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Pictures, and Sony DADC, claims that products marketed under the Blu-ray name infringe on a patent Target owns for reflective layer materials in optical discs. The patent is for specific types of silver-based alloys with the advantages of gold, but achievable at a much lower price than the precious yellow metal. The alloys are said to be even more resistant to corrosion than pure silver.
However, this suit is not as serious as the one with Immersion over the rumble functionality implemented in Dual Shock 2 controllers for the PS2. The same site reports that Target does not specify in their suit whether all Blu-ray discs infringe on its patent, or just a portion of discs manufactured in specific ways. The company received the patent in March of 2006, two years after its filling.
Sony representatives declined to talk about the issue, and will probably keep shutting up about it, just like they did on the rumble issue. I wonder if it's really true or not.