Nintendo has faced several lawsuits due to alleged claims of copyright infringement in the past. A Japanese company, Milestone Co., sued Nintendo over the camera lens system for the DSi, which was one of many defining features of the handheld. This last February, a Texas patent-holding company accused Nintendo of infringing on a patent for motion-sensitive video game controllers. Nintendo was also sued over the Wii remote’s trigger, the Wii remote itself, and even Wii Fit. Nintendo is facing another lawsuit, but this time it is from a former Sony employee.
Seijiro Tomita, an employee of Sony until 2002, has filed a lawsuit against Nintendo in a New York district court. In the case, Tomita alleges that Nintendo infringed on a patent that he filed in 2003 and was issued to him in August 2008. The patent is for “A stereoscopic video image pick-up and display system,” which is designed for the “eyes of a viewer,” which means that it does not require special glasses. The patent goes into a lot of specifics including a claim for storing images intended for the left and right eye, a display system using LED’s, and a video image pick-up device adapted to feed out information on the depth of an area. The patent also includes claims of measuring the distance from the device to the user. According to the lawsuit filed by Tomita:
Mr. Tomita has done substantial research and development in the area of stereoscopic display technology. Among other things, Mr. Tomita invented and developed technology relating to displaying stereoscopic (3-D) images on-screen for viewing with the naked eye, i.e., without utilizing glasses or other devices. The ‘664 patent asserted in this action covers 3-D technology invented and developed by Mr. Tomita.
The lawsuit was filed last month, and doesn’t go into specifics about how Nintendo violated the patent. Tomita began filing patents after he left Sony, and there are dozens in his name ranging from monitor displays to an “amusement ride camera system.” Stick with PlayStation LifeStyle as we keep you updated on this story.
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