Title: Sony ordered to pay $90 million, halt game sales
auhsor - March 28, 2005 05:51 AM (GMT)
What the?!? I don't have a playstation, but this news is pretty strange.
Source:
http://news.com.com/Sony+ordered+to+pay+90..._3-5641924.html| QUOTE |
Sony has been ordered by a U.S. court to pay about $90 million in damages and to halt game console sales in the United States in a patent infringement case against Immersion, the company's game unit said Monday.
Sony Computer Entertainment said it disagreed with the decision by a federal district court in California and would appeal to a higher court.
SCE said it will continue U.S. sales as the suspension order--which covers PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles, two game controllers and 47 software titles--will not go into effect before the appeal and because Sony will be paying compulsory license fees to Immersion, an SCE spokeswoman said.
Immersion, a San Jose, Calif.-based developer of tactile feedback technology, claimed Sony Computer Entertainment infringed on its technologies that make a game controller vibrate in sync with actions in games, the Japanese game maker said.
The court's decision confirmed a ruling by a California jury last year that ordered Sony to pay $82 million in the case. The amount was raised to slightly more than $90 million due to interest.
In another intellectual property-related lawsuit between Japanese and U.S. technology companies, Toshiba was ordered by a California jury last week to pay a total of $465 million in punitive and other damages to Lexar Media for stealing trade secrets.
Toshiba, the world's seventh-largest chipmaker, suggested it would appeal the decision. |
~DC - March 28, 2005 05:54 AM (GMT)
Sony seem to be skating on thin ice at the moment. This, all the rumors regarding their future in the console business, plus the extremely poor US PSP sales can't be good...
[DZ] - March 28, 2005 05:59 AM (GMT)
Thats just bullcrap! Why don't they sue Microsoft and Ninty while their at it. The XB and GCN also have that feature with their pads. :huh: I hope Sony wins.
Sybatical - March 28, 2005 06:04 AM (GMT)
| QUOTE ([DZ] @ Mar 28 2005, 03:59 PM) |
| Thats just bullcrap! Why don't they sue Microsoft and Ninty while their at it. The XB and GCN also have that feature with their pads. :huh: I hope Sony wins. |
Microsoft and Nintendo didn't infringe on Immersions technology. ;)
auhsor - March 28, 2005 07:55 AM (GMT)
And what is Immersions technology? I'm a bit confused by the whole deal.
BrotherEstapol - March 28, 2005 12:57 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (auhsor @ Mar 28 2005, 06:55 PM) |
| And what is Immersions technology? I'm a bit confused by the whole deal. |
Ok, I'm only guessing here, but I'd say that Sony took the "blueprints" for Immersion's rumble device.
Sure, Mircosoft, Nintendo and various 3rd party peripheral makers have rumble features in their controllers, but they'd be using different "blueprints".
For example, if Ford made a V8 engine, and GM made a V8 engine, they would be different engines that do the same thing, but when you look at them, are actually quite different.
Now say that Toyota got ahold of Ford's blueprints for their V8 and made a Toyota V8 out of them.
I'm guessing that's what's Sony did.
Additionally I'd like to add this from a Nintendo standpoint:
Mmmuuuhahahahaha!!! :drevil:
[DZ] - March 29, 2005 12:32 AM (GMT)
Sony will get out of this. So I'm just gonna sit back and think of funny quotes from Blade 3.
What the Fuck!? And when the fuck did you see my dick, FUCK FACE!!?!
-HHH
Heheheh. :P Funny. :D
~DC - March 29, 2005 12:35 AM (GMT)
Let's hope they don't worm their way out of it and suffer. :P
DJ-Civic - March 29, 2005 01:55 PM (GMT)
Well I'll be! Can you imagine stores with NO PS2s anywhere? :nooo: