DALLAS (CN) – A federal jury found Thursday that video game giant Nintendo must pay $10.1 million for its Wii and Wii U controllers infringing on a Dallas company’s motion-sensor patent.
Jurors unanimously ruled for iLife Technologies after deliberating for two days, concluding the technology firm successfully proved that amount of money would be a “reasonable royalty” for its patent.
iLife sued Nintendo in 2013, claiming its patent was initially intended to monitor infants and prevent falls by the elderly. The lawsuit demanded $144 million in damages - $4 for each of 36 million Wii consoles sold.
iLife’s attorney, Bill Munck with Munck Wilson Mandala in Dallas, said he “could not be more pleased” with the verdict.
“Munck Wilson Mandala worked with iLife on this patent; we have represented them for the past two decades,” he said in a statement. “To see a patent we wrote and now defended receive such a great verdict is an honor.”
During the two-week trial, Munck told jurors the motion-controlled gaming in the Wii system was enabled by the iLife patent’s technology and led to “blockbuster success.”
Nintendo still insists the patent is invalid and disagrees with the verdict.
“Nintendo looks forward to raising those issues with the district court and with the court of appeals,” the company told Rolling Stone.
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