ITC finds Nintendo, Wii innocent of violating Motiva patents
updated 06:50 pm EDT, Wed November 2, 2011
Nintendo Wii cleared in initial ITC ruling
The US International Trade Commission gave Nintendo a respite late Wednesday after it defeated a patent violation claim by Motiva. An administrative law judge determined that the Wii didn't violate two of Motiva's patents for tracking movement through a controller. As with all ITC cases, the ruling is preliminary and will be reviewed by a Commission panel in March to decide if any of the verdict needs to be overturned.
Nintendo in a response said it was "confident" the ITC would keep the original verdict intact. Motiva hadn't said as of Wednesday night whether or not it would appeal.
Motiva claims to have invented proprietary motion technology for video games intended primarily for feedback, such as speed and accuracy. All of its activity to date, however, has been that of a conventional patent troll hoping to profit from another's product.
The limited liability company obtained its copyright in 2008, two years after the Wii shipped, and includes nothing for its actual corporate history other than the resumes of its two founders, Don Gronachan and Kevin Ferguson, whose only experience related to the company is being an "inventor of patented Motiva technology." Motiva's front page reads as a slightly reworded patent description.
