It’s looking like Nintendo is legally untouchable, as every single patent lawsuit filed against it for the may technologies included in the Wii have fallen through.
Recently, Nintendo prevailed in a lawsuit by Impulse Technology Ltd, who dismissed itself from the case. Impulse abandoned the suit, apparently, after Judge James Owin of the U.S. District Court in Cleveland made a decision that “undermined Impulse’s legal arguments.” So that’s it. No settlement. No parting gifts. No consolation prize. Nintendo just won the lawsuit so hard that Impulse gave up before it was over.
“We are very pleased with the court’s ruling, which forced Impulse to walk away from this lawsuit,” said Nintendo of America deputy general counsel Richard Medway. “Nintendo vigorously defends patent lawsuits when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party’s patent.”
Of course, the Wii U is coming out soon, and in our American legal climate, people are probably waiting to pounce on Nintendo for technology that it maybe, somewhat, almost close to something they developed in the past.