Nintendo, Apple, Sony Sued For Patent Infringement
07 7월 2009 - 6:36AM
Dow Jones News
Some of the most popular products from Apple Inc. (AAPL), Sony
Corp. (SNE) and Nintendo Co. Ltd. (NTDOY) are the target of a new
patent infringement lawsuit.
Shared Memory Graphics LLC, based in Newport Beach, Calif.,
alleges Apple iPods and iPod Touch music and video players,
Nintendo's motion-controlled Wii and Sony PSP and PS2 game consoles
uses two graphic accelerator systems patented by the company.
The two patents describe ways in which microprocessors fine-tune
graphics by balancing the flow of data from various sources.
Apple had no comment on the lawsuit filed late last week in a
U.S. District Court in Arkansas. Nintendo and Sony didn't
immediately reply to requests for comment.
The patents were originally owned by Alliance Semiconductor
Corp., which was founded in 1985, and became "renowned worldwide"
for making faster memory and graphics semiconductors for computers,
according to the lawsuit. At one time, the filing states, Alliance
had 144 employees, and generated tens of millions of dollars in net
revenue.
But after several years of substantial operating losses, the
company in 2005 transitioned to a holding company, and ultimately
sold the patents to what is now Shared Memory Graphics.
The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in Arkansas, demands
unspecified monetary damages
The litigation targets several high profile products. Nintendo's
Wii, even though sales are slowing from their initial hectic pace,
continues to a leading seller. Apple's iPod Touch, combined with
the iPhone, are both major profit and revenue drivers at Apple. The
same can be said for Sony's PS2 and PSP game consoles.
Apple shares were down 1%, to $138.61, on Monday. Sony was up
0.3%, to $25.27, and Nintendo added 0.9% to $34.40.
-By Ben Charny; Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230;
ben.charny@dowjones.com