Sony struck with another patent suit

Sharpshooter · Post by **Sharpshooter** » 2006-07-13 09:18pm

Gamespot and the dude at Penny Arcade wrote:Sony has been having some trouble with patent disputes of late. In March 2005, Immersion Corporation won its lawsuit claiming that Sony's DualShock PlayStation and PlayStation 2 controllers infringed on its force-feedback patents. A judge ordered Sony to pay more than $90 million in damages, and earlier this year denied an attempt from the electronics giant to have the decision overturned.

Now Sony's in the middle of another patent fight, this one brought against the company by Pennsylvania-based Agere Systems. According to court documents, Agere (which has a pair of offices in Texas) has filed suit against Sony and a number of its divisions for willful infringement of eight patents in a number of its products, including the PSP, PlayStation 2, and based on announced specifications, the PlayStation 3. Sony VAIO computers, Handycams, Walkman players, Memory Stick Duos, and Location Free TV are also named as infringing offerings on some of the patents. The patents in question run from a "wireless local area network apparatus" to "barrier layer treatments for tungsten plug."

Agere is asking that each branch of Sony be made to provide an accounting of all gains made through their alleged infringements, and that the company be awarded damages to adequately compensate it based on those figures. Agere also claims that Sony knew about the patents and willfully infringed on them, so it is asking the courts to boost the damages awarded as much as three times what it would have been otherwise.

In its defense, Sony has denied all claims of infringement. It is arguing that it actually has the rights to use seven of the eight patents through a 1989 cross-licensing deal with AT&T and Lucent (whose microelectronics group eventually became Agere Systems). Sony also contends that some of the patents (including the one it doesn't claim a right to use) were not properly obtained because Agere omitted important information when it filed for them. Finally, Sony believes the patents in question are invalid anyway, and has asked the judge to declare them as such.

Agere denied Sony's counterclaims last month and has issued a demand for a jury trial.

From what I've read, it might be the start of a bandwagon, or they might have legitimate claims. Either way, this has been one helluva bad year for Sony's PR.

Molyneux · Post by **Molyneux** » 2006-07-14 12:25am

Oh, for the love of space...

As pissed as I am over Sony's price tag for the PS3, these lawsuits (as well as the first) are all bullshit. The US patent system, as has been previously established on this board, is seriously fucked in the head; it needs a major overhaul.

Lost Soal · Post by **Lost Soal** » 2006-07-14 05:04am

How long ago did the Walkman come out? And they've just decided now tht it infringes on a patant?
What the hell are they playing at?

Hotfoot · Post by **Hotfoot** » 2006-07-14 06:17am

Lost Soal wrote:How long ago did the Walkman come out? And they've just decided now tht it infringes on a patant?
What the hell are they playing at?

Sometimes these cases get tied up for decades. That the verdict just came out recently has little to do with when the original case started. Remember the appeals process.

Keevan_Colton · Post by **Keevan_Colton** » 2006-07-14 06:40am

Hotfoot wrote:
Lost Soal wrote:How long ago did the Walkman come out? And they've just decided now tht it infringes on a patant?
What the hell are they playing at?
Sometimes these cases get tied up for decades. That the verdict just came out recently has little to do with when the original case started. Remember the appeals process.

Try reading it again.

The walkman related case is a new one, not the one the verdict is out for.