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Nintendo, Sony sued for copying

US company sees dollar signs.

Dark blue icons of video game controllers on a light blue background
Image credit: Eurogamer

Nintendo and Sony are facing a lawsuit accusing them of copying a method of connecting and recognising controller devices.

Sounds quite boring and it is; US company Copper Innovations Group reckons it worked out how to recognise connected peripherals by using hardware identification numbers first, according to GameSpot

This "Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method" patent suit names the Wiimote, Nunchuk, Sixaxis and Blu-ray remotes as copycats. And seeks damages plus interest, legal fees, as well as an injunction stopping them from copying it all over again.

In 2005 Immersion Corporation forced around USD 100 million from Sony over use of rumble in its DualShock controllers.

We're sure we can find something lying around the office that someone has copied. Should mean we no longer need to go to work at 7am because nasty Tom orders it.

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