Ruling Could Halt Sony's PlayStation
A federal court ruling that could force Sony Corp. to pull the plug on its popular PlayStation video game consoles marks the latest in a series of underdog victories in legal disputes over intellectual property.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken on Thursday ordered the Japanese electronics giant not to manufacture, use, sell or import into the United States PlayStations that incorporate so-called force feedback technology developed by San Jose-based Immersion Corp.
Immersion won an $82-million judgment against Sony in September over use of Immersion's patented technology that makes game controllers shake and vibrate to enhance realism.
Although Wilken stayed her order while Sony appeals, the threat of stopping the flow of one of Sony's most lucrative products -- PlayStation accounted for 32% of Sony's operating income last quarter -- highlights the legal risks in an era of rapid technological change.
"Where innovation goes on at a torrential pace
A spokeswoman for Sony declined to comment on the case.
The defeat was one of several handed to big technology companies in recent weeks.
A jury in Santa Clara County last week ordered consumer-electronics giant Toshiba Corp. to pay Lexar Media Inc. of Fremont, Calif., $465.4 million for stealing and revealing Lexar's trade secrets. And on March 16, a federal appeals court in Virginia set the stage for tiny MercExchange of Great Falls, Va., to win an injunction preventing online auction powerhouse EBay Inc. from infringing MercExchange's patented online-buying technology.
Jason Schultz, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the companies most likely to wage patent battles were large manufacturers and small companies that specialize in selling the rights to use patented technology. An entire industry of patent-holding companies that acquire patents and enforce them is emerging, he said, and wins like the ones recorded by Immersion and MercExchange will only encourage that approach.
The problem, Schultz said, is that companies with such a narrow focus "can poison the ecosystem for innovation in technology."
Immersion Chief Executive Victor Viegas agreed but said Immersion was no mere patent mill. The company, which reported almost $24 million in sales last year, has come to dominate the force feedback market. Its technology is used not only in video games but also in car navigation systems, medical equipment and, soon, cellphones, he said.
