http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/kotaku.com.png http://kotaku.com/tag/patent http://kotaku.com/tag/patent Three years ago Ohio-based technology company Motivia filed a patent lawsuit against Nintendo, alleging the Wii infringed on its 'Human Movement Measurement System' patent. Today an International Trade Commission judge ruled that wasn't the case.Grats, big N. More »
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Maybe! A patent application, filed in 2010 but only recently uncovered, has Sony looking at biometric controls on devices that look like a DualShock, a PlayStation Move controller, and a handheld. More »
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A Microsoft patent, filed in March 2010 but only publicly released last week, is called PARENTAL CONTROL SETTINGS BASED ON BODY DIMENSIONS. It's about using tech like Kinect to automatically restrict content on a PC or Xbox depending on who (or what) the camera sees in the room. More »
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Our good friends at Fusible note, somewhat wryly, that while Nintendo's gotten around to filing trademark applications on the Wii U it's lacking ownership of the wiiu.com domain. The console by that name is due for sale sometime in 2012. More »
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Back in 2010, Nintendo filed a patent application for something called a "massively single-playing online game," something whose interactions don't take place in real time and what sounds a little Animal Crossing-ish (above). More »
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The Nintendo 3DS uses glasses-free 3D technology that infringes on a patent held by a former Sony engineer, according to a lawsuit filed two weeks ago. More »
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While the Blu-ray patent infringement lawsuit between electronics manufacturer LG and Sony rages on, a court decision in the Netherlands has halted the confiscation of PlayStation 3 systems entering Europe, with the more than 300,000 units already seized ordered returned. More »
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Several thousand more PlayStation 3s were seized by Dutch customs officials on the eve of Sony's courtoom showdown with Korea-based LG, whose allegations of patent infringement have effectively halted the distribution of consoles across Europe the past 10 days. More »
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Tens of thousands of PS3s were seized by customs officers last week in the Netherlands as part of an ongoing contentious court battle between LG and Sony, the Guardian reports. More »
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Having to enter letters and numbers via a control pad sucks, as anyone typing out credit card numbers or download codes on an Xbox 360 or PS3 will attest. If only there was a way to make this necessary evil easier... More »
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As nice as Sony's PlayStation Move is, we can't help but look at this old patent for the device and think one of its original designs was a little nicer. More »
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Still trying to sell the DS to people who don't typically play games, Nintendo has plans for an application linking the DS with a supermarket's inventory so users can simplify their shopping list and find what they need more easily. More »
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A patent application filed by Nintendo mentions a Wii Vitality Sensor game in which players control the flight of a cartoon character with a combination of Wii remote gestures and - wait for it - breathing. More »
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Sony has patented a means whereby you can play PS2 games on a PS3. And they're some kooky means. More »
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A couple of patent applications published recently show that Sony's looking at stereoscopic video for more than just 3D gaming; it could take the place of split-screen local multiplayer. More »
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A newly published patent application lends additional credence to what Nikkei reported last month, that Nintendo's upcoming 3DS handheld will feature force feedback. More »
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A recent patent application describes a process in which an Xbox Live gamer, invited to a multiplayer session, but missing a critical piece to play (a map, a track, whatever), is offered and may buy it without dropping the invitation. More »
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Siliconera found a patent application from Nintendo that is one of either two things - a new cartridge for existing DS configurations, or a new cartridge for a new DS. Or it could be both, come to think of it. More »
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Rumors of a new DS make this kind of news a little juicier: Nintendo at the end of last month filed an addendum to a 2005 patent that describes a vibration feedback system, this time coming through the stylus. More »
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A pair of attachments would turn two Wiimotes into a set of sticks, presumably for an air-drumming game, according to a patent filed recently by Namco Bandai. More »
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Microsoft's filed a patent that would make avatars more realistic and less idealized, with the point of getting your husky ass out to exercise if what you're seeing in the dashboard is a more realistic presentation of yourself. More »
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I'm just about at my breaking point with these wacky controller patents, but this one's so wacky - a football you stick your Wii Remote into - that it's worth a closer look. More »
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Sony Computer Entertainment America filed a patent a couple months back, for a system using coffee mugs to play a video game. Now they've filed one to make your laughter into a controller. More »
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Read that headline one more time. Then look at this picture. And prepare yourself for the eventuality that no, this is not a joke, meaning yes, Nintendo actually patented an inflatable horse-riding peripheral for the Wii. More »
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The past week in gaming news gave us a glimpse into 2009. More »
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Today a Nintendo patent came to light for a hint system which would allow gamers to essentially let games play themselves. We reached out to game developers for their opinion on the patent. More »
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A patent application filed on October 23rd that surfaced over at NeoGAF reveals that talk of Sony creating a break-apart controller that surfaced back in July of this year might not have been as far-fetched as was originally thought. The patent is for a method by which a system could track the movement of one or more controllers, with video tracking the position of the controllers and ultrasonic frequencies used to determine their distance from the console. What this means is that two different controllers would submit data to a video input device like the PlayStation Eye, with the Eye's microphone picking up on both the visual location and aural distance to track motion. More »
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Last night we reported that the U.S. International Trade Commission had agreed to fully investigate the claims made by Hillcrest Laboratories that the Nintendo Wii infringes on four patents they hold for motion-controlled devices. More »
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What the?! Another Nintendo controller peripheral? This recently published US Patent and Trademark Office filing would certainly convince one to believe so! That is, until one looked at the date of the patent application submission, which dates back to 2005. Sure, the patent was published on June 28 of this year, but it references foreign application data that predates the official unveiling of the Wii Remote prototype. More »
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Last week, a Texas company called Lonestar Inventions filed a suit against Nintendo alleging that their new console infringes on a patent that they invented. The company has already gone to court over this patent with Texas Instruments as well as Marvell Semiconductor and Eastman Kodak. The patent, which was issed in 1993, details a space-saving method that triples effectiveness of parallel plate capacitors by using layers of conducting strips. Yeah, I don't know what that means either, but I'm hoping there will be some freak happening where the whole thing will be uncovered on The People's Court. Kim Phu More »
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Talk about a day late and a dollar short, New York-based company Paltalk has filed suit against Microsoft for allegedly infringing on two of their patents in the creation of Xbox Live. More »
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Gamespot has details on a strange new patent filing that may, or frankly may not, have game controller or console applications. The patent is for "electrorheological fluid device and an electronic apparatus, which realize satisfactorily changeable hardness or tension in a portion of the device or apparatus which a human body touches, enabling application to a product that needs to have portability". More »
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Bad news for those of us who were hoping that the lack of a Wii trademark indicated a Nintendo marketing conspiracy to change the name back to the Revolution come E3. The trademark database has been updated and, sigh, Wii is there. More »
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The kids at DS Advanced caught a potential big fish while trolling the US Patent and Trademark Office's online patent database. The patent outlines functionality similar to a patent that Apple made headlines for, one that allows for multiple touchscreen inputs at once. It just so happens that the associated patent images look quite like a Nintendo DS, with a few notable changes. More »
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