US Court of Appeals upholds Wii balance board patent

The Federal Circuit of the US Court of Appeals has upheld a 2012 decision ruling that Nintendo's Wii balance board does not infringe on a patent held by IA Labs. The patent in question (U.S. Patent No. 7,121,982) describes an "isometric exercise system" computer peripheral. It is among several patents IA Labs brought to court claiming infringement by Nintendo -- all were rejected. The same hearing also upheld the lower court's mandate that IA Labs must pay Nintendo's attorneys' fees, totaling more than $236,000. "We are very pleased with the court's decision," Richard Medway, Nintendo of America's deputy general counsel, said in a statement. Medway said that Nintendo "vigorously defend patent lawsuits, like the IA Labs lawsuit, when we firmly believe that we have not infringed another party's patent."