Court won't hear Nintendo patent case

[November 02, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court won't reinstate a $21 million judgment against Nintendo of America Inc., turning away a claim of patent infringement from a Texas gaming company.

The high court refused to hear an appeal from Anascape Ltd. on Monday.

A federal jury decided that Nintendo infringed on Anascape's existing patent of the technology used to make joysticks while designing its Wii Classic, WaveBird and Gamecube controllers. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit overturned the award.

No infringement was found with the motion-sensing technology used in Nintendo's wandlike Wii and Nunchuk controllers. Nintendo has said it no longer makes the WaveBird and Gamecube controller.

The case is Anascape v Nintendo, 10-301.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.