The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that none of Nintendo's video game controllers infringe on a patent asserted by Anascape. Nintendo had been accused by Anascape of infringing on U.S. Patent No. 6,906,700. The case was tried before a jury in the Eastern District of Texas in May 2008. The jury found that neither the motion-sensing Wii Remote controller, nor the Nunchuk controller, infringes on the patent.However, the jury found that the Classic Controller for the Wii console, and the WaveBird and standard controllers for Nintendo GameCube did infringe on the patent. Today's decision, however, completely reversed the jury's findings of infringement.
"In 2008, the jury determined that the Wii Remote and Nunchuk did not infringe," said Nintendo of America General Counsel Rick Flamm. "Today the Federal Circuit's ruling confirmed that none of Nintendo's controllers infringe. We appreciate that our position has been vindicated."
For reference, the case is Anascape, Ltd. v. Nintendo of America Inc. and the citation is 2008-1500.