Fenner pulls a Cisco on Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony
By George Gardner
A Texas based corporation, Fenner Investments, is claiming to hold the patent for a low-voltage joystick port interface in which they are using as the cornerstone behind a lawsuit against Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony.
Records indicate that the design was originally developed by Lucent Technologies in 1998; through one form or another, Fenner Investments is claiming to have acquired legal rights to the patent.
Fenner is seeking compensation for incurred damages as an outcome of the use and sales of this technology within these game controllers, and is also looking to be recompensed for interest incurred and court costs. As to how much compensation they will be pursuing still remains a mystery; details have not been released.
The Lawsuit claims these three firms are “now engaging, and will in the future continue to engage, in unauthorized conduct and activities that violate” (the patent). Within the patent is a computer interface that communicates with a 5-volt joystick port.
The patent seems to even cover variations of this invention by stating, “The invention being thus described, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.”
It should be noted, however, that this is not the first claim against a large corporation; Fenner lost a suit against Alcatel, Nokia, and Cisco last year in a claimed patent infringement.
No comments have been made by any of these firms; although, if this case be with merit, Fenner could be facing one large payday.
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