Wireless Controllers Get Nintendo and Sony Sued

Copper Innovations Group filed a lawsuit against Nintendo and Sony late last month over its patent for a “Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method,” which was filed in January 1996. It includes a method of connecting devices to a system and a way to organize them by hardware ID numbers. And, according to the lawsuit, both Nintendo and Sony are infringing on the patent by making their systems and controllers, specifically citing the Wiimote, Nunchuck, Sixaxis, and Blu-ray remote control.

While it sounds plausible enough (even though attaching a signal to some sort of hardware ID number seems more like common sense than something that should be patented), I don’t understand why Microsoft wasn’t named as a co-defendant as well. You’d think that if you’re seeking money through a lawsuit, Microsoft would be the entity you would most want to include – they do, after all, build inanimate objects out of piles of money. True story.

But one thing that’s odd, as the very first poster on Evil Avatar points out, is why didn’t they sue when the Wavebird was released? Did it use different technology, or is this simply a matter of more money being at stake?