Put your hands up and step away from the Dual Shock controller!
Seems that Sony got into a little patent infringment trouble.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=620540
SAN JOSE, Calif. Mar 28, 2005 — A judge has ordered Sony Corp. to pay $90.7 million to a company that develops technology that enhances video game realism but immediately stayed an order that would halt U.S. sales of Sony's popular PlayStation consoles.
San Jose-based Immersion Corp. sued Sony in 2002, saying the Japanese company violated two of its patents, using them to create tactile feedback features.
A federal jury in Oakland decided in favor of Immersion in September and ordered Sony to pay $82 million in damages.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken affirmed the decision and tacked on $8.7 million in interest. She also ordered the sales ban but granted Sony an immediate stay pending the company's expected appeal.
Sony has already paid Immersion $7 million in compulsory license payments ordered by the court and will continue to do so each quarter, based on sales of infringing products, until there is a reversal or settlement.
A Tokyo-based Sony official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the company plans to appeal. He declined to give more details because the lawsuit is pending.
"We have always believed, and continue to believe, in the strength of our intellectual property," Immersion Chief Executive Victor Viegas said Monday. "We remain confident of our position in the appeals process."



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