Nintendo and Philips Resolve Patent Dispute

The patent dispute between Nintendo and Philips regarding the Wii U has been resolved and a deal was made between the two large companies. Of which the financial terms have not yet been revealed.

In May 2014, Philips tried to remove the Wii U from the market in the US after releasing claims saying that the console infringed multiple patents and had copied technology that allows the user's actions to be replicated within a game.

The other infringement that was breached was how the user-interface was controlled by the user, of which the idea of pointing an object/device at a console would navigate the interface, such as a Wii Remote.

Then in June 2014, Nintendo lost a court battle in the UK regarding the patents. It did however appeal the idea of keeping the consoles in shops and being sold.

Until recently, they were battling over the patents but now they have come across a mutual agreement of which Nintendo and Philips can cross-license selections of the others patent library. Philips has now ended the proceedings for the patent infringement in Britain, US, France and Germany.

Martina France, European General Counsel of Nintendo Europe released a statement saying:

We are pleased to have reached agreement with Philips, as it demonstrates that both companies recognize the importance of intellectual property rights. Nintendo has a substantial IP portfolio and a long history of developing innovative products while respecting valid intellectual property rights of others.

Both of the companies refused to release the financial terms regarding the license agreement but it is now legal for Nintendo to continue selling the Wii U product.