Nintendo’s Howard Lincoln once uttered a great line. I’m paraphrasing a bit, it went something like this:

Nintendo’s business is game second, litigation first.

Looks like that is still true after all of these years. Interlink, a California-based electronics firm, has filed a lawsuit against Nintendo alleging that the Wii remote violates one of their patents. This patent describes a remote-like mouse that the user holds in one hand. It has a trigger on the bottom.

While the design in the patent looks vaguely like the Wii remote, it doesn’t look like Interlink has much of a case. Their mouse is operated with a thumb-on-touchpad system instead of Nintendo’s motion control. Their main issue, the trigger button on the bottom, is even more ridiculous as controllers with triggers existed long before they filed their patent.

What are even more ridiculous are their demands. They want a restraining order put out on sales of the Wii remote (not that you can find them anyways). They also seek reimbursement for three times the assessed damages as well as legal fees. They also want a trial by jury.

This looks fairly ridiculous, and I hope it gets thrown out quickly. It is examples like this that make me wonder about our patent laws.

Nintendo Sued Over Controller Patent