Nintendo Switch Allegedly Infringed on Gamevice's Patent; Lawsuit Filed and Productions Asked to Halt
After making a spectacular comeback at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Nintendo is facing its first debacle in the form of a case that was filed against it regarding its most popular console's controllers. Recent reports reveal that Nintendo is being sued for patent infringement with regard to the Joy-Con Controllers of the Switch.
According to reports, the lawsuit was filed by Wikipad maker, Gamevice. The said company is claiming the Nintendo Switch is too much like the patent it owns for controllers that are connected by a flexible bridge section. Although some fans are claiming that the lawsuit might be because of the Nintendo Switch's success compared to that of the Wikipad, it is unclear as to how the court will proceed with the charges. Gamevice is asking them to have the Nintendo Switch halt production and have the company pay them for damages.
As reports and most of the fans have pointed out since the news first came out, the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers are not connected with the aforementioned bridge. It also offers a wide range of capabilities that Gamevice's Wikipad could not at the time when it was released. Regardless, the company has continued to claim that the patent that Nintendo is apparently infringing is Gamevice's "Combination Computing Device and Game Controller with Flexible Bridge Section." The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District in California.
Nintendo has yet to comment on the issue and Gamevice has not released an official statement, but fans are curious to see how it will be resolved. Considering there is a big possibility that it might not be granted by the court, Gamevice could suffer some major backlash. On the other hand, Nintendo cannot afford the situation at the moment as it has been nothing but driven to strengthen its foundations ever since the threat of bankruptcy that it faced last year.
