Nintendo Controllers Get a Ban

By Andrew Clark / Tuesday, 22 July 2008

After being ordered to pay $21 million for copyright infringement, a Texas judge will release a ban on the Nintendo controllers that were found to indeed infringe on Anascape's copyrights. The Wavebird, Classic Controller, and standard GameCube controllers all fall under this category, and were found in violation. Nintendo has since appealed this, in an attempt to lessen the blow on their wallets, and the ban cannot take effect until after the appeal. There are also two possibilities for Nintendo to avoid the ban, by posting a bond, or putting royalties into an escrow account (thanks Bloomberg). Anascape also accused Microsoft, but they settled outside of court. Perhaps it is time for Nintendo to begin licensing the patent for use of its own products, as Sony has been doing. This would certainly avoid a lot of confusion and lawsuits. Via Gamespot