Nintendo Has Finally Won a Wii Remote Patent Lawsuit It's Been Fighting for 15 Years, or Three Console Generations

Nintendo has yet won damages successful a Wii Remote suit it's been warring since 2010, implicit an unofficial controller that infringed connected the company's patents.

15 years on, Nintendo has claimed triumph successful its highly long-running conflict against Bigben Interactive (since renamed Nacon), and has been awarded a judgement worthy $7 cardinal (around $8.2 million). The existent damages Nintendo has been awarded number for astir fractional the amount, portion the remainder is made up of interest, since the lawsuit has dragged connected for truthful long.

Why has it taken a decennary and a fractional to sort? As reported by GamesFray, Nintendo won an aboriginal ruling connected the lawsuit backmost successful 2011, though Nacon has been capable to hold a further determination connected damages until now. And the substance inactive isn't over, arsenic Nacon is present appealing the verdict — holding disconnected connected paying for adjacent longer.

Back successful 2010, Nintendo said a third-party Wii controller made by Nacon, past Bigben, infringed connected its ain patents and had caused the institution to suffer money. Without that third-party controller connected the market, Nintendo argued, customers would person different bought much of its authoritative Wii Remote instead.

In response, Bigben said that customers could person chosen different third-party controllers arsenic good arsenic its own, truthful Nintendo couldn't assertion it would person decidedly mislaid out. But Nintendo yet won this argument, arsenic a tribunal decided that the company's patents were beardown capable that nary different third-party controller could person been made without others infringing connected Nintendo's patents also.

Nintendo has a estimation for being a litigious company, pursuing video crippled pirates and instances wherever it feels its trademarks person been infringed — specified arsenic successful its existent ineligible enactment against Palworld shaper Pocketpair, which it presently seems to beryllium struggling with.

If thing else, this latest improvement shows that Nintendo is thing if not persistent. And if the institution does privation to prosecute you, hole to inactive beryllium fighting, 3 console generations later.

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social