Nintendo found guilty of 3D technology patent infringement

If you missed it, last month former Sony inventor Seijiro Tomita decided to sue Nintendo for infringing his 3D display technology patent.

Now, a federal jury in New York has found Nintendo guilty and awarded Seijiro Tomita $30.2 million in compensatory damages.

In the opening arguments of the case last month, Tomita’s attorney told the jury Nintendo had used his client’s technology to develop the 3DS.

The defence attorney for Nintendo argued the 3DS did not use the key aspects of Tomita’s patent and explained a company meeting in 2003 revealed the claim was one of several.

Tomita was not present in the courtroom when the verdict was made, but his attorney passed on an email thanking the jurors for their diligence and hard work.

Nintendo of America provided IGN with a statement explaining the jury’s verdict would not impact sales in the US.

“Nintendo is confident that the result will be set aside. The jury’s verdict will not impact Nintendo’s continued sales in the United States of its highly acclaimed line of video game hardware, software and accessories, including the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others.”

How this will affect Nintendo internationally is obviously yet to be seen, but you’d think $30 million would be nothing when main-entry Pokémon games are capable of pulling $15 million in sales on average, and Nintendo itself is valued in the trillions.