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Philips asking for damages, ban on sale of Wii U due to patent infringements

S¡mon

Banned
Nintendo is possibly infringing on two Philips patents. One of the patents has possibly deliberately been infringed by Nintendo.

Nintendo has been aware of one of the patents, according to Philips, but has refused to take a license and continued violating it. One of the patents clearly states that the technology can be used for games.

The second patent mentions a wireless device that can be controlled via a secondary device through motion input.

This is a civil action for infringement of a patent arising under the laws of the United States relating to patents, including 35 U.S.C. § 281

(...)

Prayer for Relief

WHEREFORE,
Philips respectfully requests that judgment be entered:

A. declaring that the Defendants have infringed the ’379 and ’231 patents;
B. declaring that the Defendants’ infringement of the ’379 and ’231 patents has been deliberate and willful;
C. compensating Philips for all damages caused by the Defendants’ infringement of the ’379 and ’231 patents;
D. enhancing Philips’s damages up to three times their amount pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 284;
E. preliminarily and permanently enjoining the Defendants, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and those persons in active concert or participation with them, from making, using, selling, offering for sale, and importing within the United States interactive virtual modeling products and HCI products;
F. granting Philips pre- and post-judgment interest on its damages, together with all costs and expenses;
G. granting Philips its reasonable attorney fees pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 285; and
H. awarding such other relief as this Court may deem just and proper

Demand for Jury Trial
Plaintiff respectfully requests a trial by jury on all claims so triable.

Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/224095177/Koninklijke-Philips-N-V-et-al-v-Nintendo-et-al
 

CengizMan

Member
1370220531797.jpg
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I just read the part in that Console Wars book where Nintendo announced they were going to work with Philips on a CD-ROM accessory for the SNES, backstabbing Sony in the process.

Somehow, I find this hilarious now.
 

darkside31337

Tomodachi wa Mahou
Philips isn't the only ones doing a prayer for relief when it comes to the Wii U.

And patent laws really are the craziest things ever.
 
S¡mon;111988846 said:
Yeah, they used to be quite big in consumer electronics (but that, obviously, is no longer the case). They are still one of the biggest, though, when it comes to creating medical devices.

Yep, they're doing quite well in that area (and other b2b fields).
 

orioto

Good Art™
In a way... That's the perfect occasion for Nintendo to move on with a new system and say "we had no choice!!"
 

Linkyn

Member
I don't get this. If there has been infringement going on since the Wii, shouldn't a complaint like this have been lodged years ago?

Also, wouldn't this mean that Microsoft and Sony equally infringed with virtual modelling software and intuitive control devices (or whatever)?
 

Duster

Member
Is anybody else reminded of that Fresh Prince episode where Will wants half of Ashley's record sales?

Anyway patent law really needs to be changed to stop vague cases like this.
 

Eusis

Member
Wonder if we can get a breakdown on the patents. Being a company that does actual business I'm inclined to think these claims are legit or at least far closer to being legit than, say, vague controller patent from some Texas firm that doesn't even have a site. And the kind of patent SHOULD be obviously covering what we've had for decades or so it'd seem anyway.
Is anybody else reminded of that Fresh Prince episode where Will wants half of Ashley's record sales?

Anyway patent law really needs to be changed to stop vague cases like this.
Honestly on the hardware side we probably just need a heavy handed intrusion on the problematic counties and other places. Yeah yeah self governing and crap, but we're talking things that are affecting the whole country, if not the world at large. Letting a few small places be bastions of patent trolls is absolute garbage and flies against the intents those places may've had in protecting inventors anyway.
 
Apparently it also affects Wii and Wii Remote – not the Wii U in particular. Why did Philips wait 8 years after those were released?

philips_wii-patentfjjoy.png
 

Bronetta

Ask me about the moon landing or the temperature at which jet fuel burns. You may be surprised at what you learn.
*insert shitty joke about Wii U sales here*
 

Tripon

Member
This seems to be the patent in question.


Filed in 2009, issued on Sept. 17th, 2013.

The user interaction system comprises a portable pointing device (101) connected to a camera (102) and sending pictures to a digital signal processor (120), capable of recognizing an object (130) and a command given by the user (100) by moving the pointing device (101) in a specific way, and controlling an electrical apparatus (110) on the basis of this recognition. (Characteristic) pattern generation means (116) can be included in the system for facilitating object recognition.

YCEQOqz.png


1. User interaction system, comprising:an electrical apparatus;a portable pointing device operable by a user for pointing to a region in space;a camera taking a picture, which camera is physically attached to the pointing device so that in operation it always images the region pointed to without imaging the pointing device;a distributed digital signal processor, the digital signal processor being capable of receiving and processing the picture, and capable of transmitting user interface information derived from the picture to the electrical apparatus;at least one localization beacon that emit electromagnetic radiation for use by the digital signal processor in order to recognize where the pointing device is pointing;wherein the digital signal processor estimates a motion or a motion trajectory of the pointing device; and,wherein said digital signal processor recognizes where the pointing device is pointing without utilizing any electromagnetic radiation emitted from the pointing device itself.
2. User interaction system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitted user interface information includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of motion speed, and motion direction of the pointing device.
3. User interaction system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitted user interface information includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of motion trajectory of the pointing device and a characteristic signature derived from the motion trajectory of the pointing device.
4. User interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the user interface information comprises apparatus control data for controlling operation of the electrical apparatus.
5. Electrical apparatus for use in a user interaction system as in claim 1, characterized in that interface means are comprised which allow the electrical apparatus to send information about supported commands to a pointing device based on an “identify supported commands” call of the pointing device to the electrical apparatus.
6. The user interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the motion or the motion trajectory of the pointing device is estimated on basis of motion sensing means.
7. The user interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the motion or the motion trajectory of the pointing device is estimated on basis of successive pictures imaged by the camera at respective instances of time.
8. The user interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the digital signal processor is distributed in a number of parts.
9. The user interaction system as in claim 8, wherein a first part of the digital signal processor is included within the pointing device and a second part of the digital signal processor is included within the electrical apparatus.
10. The user interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the digital signal processor is arranged to analyze gestures made with the pointing device based on said motion trajectory.
11. The user interaction system as in claim 10, wherein the pointing device is arranged to control an operation of the electrical apparatus based on said analyzed gestures.
12. The user interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the motion trajectory is summarized by a signature which is a mathematical representation of said motion. trajectory.
13. The user interaction system as in claim 12, wherein the signature is linked to a command for controlling the electrical apparatus.
14. The user interaction system as in claim 12, wherein the signature is matched by a curve fitting technique.
15. The user interaction system as in claim 1, wherein the pointing device further comprises feedback means for providing a user with feedback of which part of the electrical apparatus the user is pointing to.
16. The user interaction system as in claim 15, wherein said feedback means is selected from the group consisting of light, sound, a display and force feedback means.
17. A method of interacting between an electrical apparatus and a portable pointing device, the device being physically attached to a camera, the method comprising: pointing the pointing device to a region in space; taking a picture with the camera, wherein the picture is of the region pointed to, and wherein the picture does not contain any image of the pointing device; receiving and processing the picture; receiving electromagnetic radiation from at least one localization beacon; recognizing where the pointing device is pointing by at least in part on utilizing the received electromagnetic radiation; transmitting user interface information derived from the picture to the electrical apparatus; wherein the processing step comprises estimating a motion ion or a motion trajectory of the pointing device; and, wherein the recognizing step does not utilize any electromagnetic radiation emitted from pointing device itself.
18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of utilizing a motion sensing means in estimating the motion or the motion trajectory of the pointing device.
19. The method of claim 17 further comprising analyzing successive pictures imaged by the camera at respective instances of time in estimating the motion or the motion trajectory of the pointing device.
20. The method of claim 17 further comprising analyzing gestures made with the pointing device based on said motion trajectory.
21. The method of claim 20 further comprising controlling an operation of the electrical apparatus based on said analyzed gestures.
22. The method of claim 17 further comprising summarizing the motion trajectory by a signature which is a mathematical representation of said motion trajectory.
23. The method of claim 22 further comprising linking the signature to a command for controlling an operation of the electrical apparatus.

Don't really know what to make of it. The patent basically claims that its a universal remote.
 

S¡mon

Banned
I legit had no idea Philips still existed beyond the beard shaver market.

Their revenue is somewhere around €25 billion a year. Not as much as, let's say, Apple, but still a lot of money. Most of it comes from healthcare appliances and their lighting appliances (as in literally: light bulbs, lamps, lighting at concerts/events, etc.). Only after those two departments, 'consumer electronics' come in for Philips.
 

Phamit

Member
They informed Nintendo 5 years after the Wii release that Nintendo using Patents from Phillips? Why so late? The Wii is not really a niche console
 
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