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Nintendo beats another patent troll

Nintendo has triumphed in another patent case -- this time beating a company in Japan at the same time its patents were vacated in the U.S., forcing a dismissal.

Christian Nutt, Contributor

May 19, 2014

1 Min Read
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Nintendo has triumphed in another patent case -- this time, winning its battle against Wall Wireless in Japan at the same time the U.S. district court dismissed Wall's case in Texas. The dismissal was forced when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office vacated Wall's patent claims. The case was originally brought by Wall in 2009. Wall Wireless is a non-practicing entity, commonly known as a patent troll. "Nintendo vigorously defends patent lawsuits and other proceedings when we believe we have not infringed another party’s patents. It does not matter where such cases are filed or if it takes more than five years to vindicate our position. Nintendo continues to develop unique and innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others," said Richard Medway, Nintendo of America’s vice president and deputy general counsel, in a statement. Nintendo has been embroiled in a great deal of patent litigation against so-called patent trolls in the last few years. In 2012, Rick Flamm, the company's senior vice president of legal said "We refuse to succumb to patent trolls," after prevailing in a case in Maryland. It won another battle last year and one earlier this year. The company's battles aren't always against trolls: Dutch electronics giant Philips filed suit against Nintendo this month, also alleging patent infringement. That case is still pending.

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