REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On March 17, a United States Appeals Court confirmed that the Nintendo 3DS system does not use technology covered in a patent asserted by Tomita Technologies USA, Inc. and Tomita Technologies International, Inc. The Court specifically confirmed that Nintendo 3DS includes technology that is significantly different from the patented technology.
This decision follows an earlier ruling in April 2016 by Judge Jed Rakoff in New York Federal Court that Nintendo does not infringe the patent, and vindicates Nintendo’s consistent position in this case over the last six years. This decision is the second in Nintendo’s favor by the Appeals Court, which first reversed a 2013 judgment against Nintendo. The decision in Nintendo’s favor also follows a failed attempt by Tomita to enforce a similar patent claim in Japan.
“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision,” said Ajay Singh, Nintendo of America’s Director of Litigation and Compliance. “Nintendo 3DS has never used the technology in Tomita’s patent, and the Court’s ruling confirms Nintendo’s long tradition of using its own innovative technology. This case also proves once again that Nintendo will aggressively defend patent lawsuits when our products do not infringe, even when we must do so over many years, through multiple trials and in multiple countries.”
About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™ and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 4.4 billion video games and more than 696 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.
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