Former Sony employee 58-year-old Hidehiro Kume invented a small optical pickup that is used to read and write discs in the PlayStation 2 and the original PlayStation. He didn't feel Sony recognized his contributions, so he took it to court.
A lower Japanese court rejected Kume's claim he deserved compensation, but the Japanese high court ruled that Sony must pay Kume ¥5.1 million (roughly US$60,000) as a reward for his invention.
Kume was seeking ¥100 million.
"I thank the court for identifying some of my contributions to the company," Kume said after the ruling. "But the company should have appreciated my contributions when I was an employee."
Sony is currently examining the court's decision to decide how it will proceed.
High court orders Sony to pay ex-employee 5.1 mil. yen for invention [iStock Analyst]