US-based Copper Innovations Group alleges that the Japanese platform holders have copied a method of connecting and recognizing controller devices. Specifically, the patent in question, ‘Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method’, which was filed in 1996, covers a method for connecting devices to a system and sorting their inputs by means of hardware identification numbers tied to each transmission.

 

The lawsuit, which has been filed with the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, names the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, Sixaxis and Blu-ray remotes as infringing products, reports GameSpot. It is currently unclear why Microsoft has not been named in the suit.

 

Copper Innovations is seeking damages, legal fees, and an injunction that would permanently prohibit the defendants from infringing on the patent.

 

In 2005 Immersion Corporation won a lawsuit against Sony over the platform holder’s use of rumble technology in its DualShock controllers.