An award-winning Maryland-based company is suing Nintendo over exercise technologies and much more Its weird, we dont hear about any patent infringement cases for months and then we get word of two in the same week. Anyway, a fitness technology com...
Its weird, we dont hear about any patent infringement cases for months and then we get word of two in the same week. Anyway, a fitness technology company called IA Labs believes Nintendo has infringed two of its patents in developing Wii Fit, Wii Fit Plus and the Wii Balance Board… and the Wii Remote, and the Nunchuk, and the MotionPlus, and the Wii Wheel, and the Wii Zapper.
The patents, issued in October 2006 and February 2008 respectively, relate to a "computer interactive isometric exercise system and method for operatively interconnecting the exercise system to a computer system for use as a peripheral" and a "force measurement system for an isometric exercise device". Well, it definitely puts the name "Wii Balance Board" to shame.
Apparently, IA Labs representatives had been in contact with Nintendo since 2007 through meetings and e-mails when overlaps in the companies patents were discovered. As a matter of fact, IA Labs even offered to license its technology to Nintendo before the publisher broke contact in late 2008.
How the regular Wii peripherals are involved in the infringements isnt totally clear, but IA Labs seeks to pull all infringing products off shelves, as well as claim damages and other court costs.
Source: Gamespot
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It's Black, Back Again.
Makes sense to us.