Nintendo and Philips have finally settled their patent dispute over the Wii and Wii U motion controller technology with a global patent license agreement under which the duo will cross-license portions of each other’s patent portfolios.
“We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Nintendo. It demonstrates that both companies recognize the importance of intellectual property rights,” said Brian Hinman, chief intellectual property officer of Philips.
“It also shows the value of our extensive IP portfolio and our commitment to protect our significant investments in research & development.”
The agreement will also put an end to Philips patent infringement proceedings against Nintendo in Germany, Britain, France and the US. Back in May, technology company Philips had filed a complaint against Nintendo claiming Nintendo had infringed on two its patents in the US. Philips accused Nintendo of copying patent for an “interactive system for which a user can remotely control devices in an intuitive manner.”
In June, Nintendo lost the patent lawsuit in a UK court. Judge Colin Birss had ruled out that Nintendo’s Wii, Wii Remote, Wii Motion Plus controllers, Nunchuk, Balance Board, Wii U console and GamePad violated patents laid out by Philips. Nintendo appealed the decision as it promised to do all it could to keep its consoles on shop shelves.
“We are pleased to have reached agreement with Philips, as it demonstrates that both companies recognize the importance of intellectual property rights,” Nintendo’s European general counsel Martina Franke said.
“Nintendo has a substantial IP portfolio and a long history of developing innovative products while respecting valid intellectual property rights of others.”
Financial terms of the license agreement were not disclosed.
