Nintendo Prevails Over Fenner Investments in East Texas Patent Suit

Literally on the "eve of trial," Judge Leonard Davis dismissed claims for patent infringement against Nintendo that were brought by Fenner Investment in East Texas. Fenner had alleging that the Wii console and its controllers along with the GameCube infringed on a patent held by Fenner.

Judge Davis dismissed the case Monday citing that no jury trial was needed.

From Judge Davis' order:

Following the review of the parties’ oral arguments and written submissions on Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment and Motion for Clarification the Court concludes that the material disputes between the parties concern the meaning and scope of the patent-in-suit (“the ‘751 patent”). As such, these disputes are issues of law. O2 Micro Int’l Ltd. v. Beyond Innovation Tech. Co., 521 F.3d 1351, 1361 (Fed. Cir. 2008). The Court further finds that a correct construction of the claim terms in the ‘751 patent supports the arguments raised in Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment of Non-infringement. Therefore, Nintendo’s Motion for Summary Judgment of Non-Infringement (Docket No. 207) and Microsoft’s Motion for Summary Judgment of Non-Infringement (Docket No. 208) are GRANTED. A full opinion and final judgment will follow. The jury is dismissed. No appearance on March 17, 2009 is required.

Nintendo's senior in-house counsel, Rick Flamm, was reported as saying "We are very pleased with the court’s decision," "Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others. We also vigorously defend patent lawsuits when wehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif firmly believe that we have not infringed another party’s patent, despite the risks that this policy entails. I would like to express our sincere appreciation for the tireless efforts of our legal team, which represented us so well."

That legal team included local Seattle Patent litigators from Perkins Coie, including Jerry Riedinger, Jessica Rossman, Michael D. Broaddus, Tyler C. Peterson, and Vincent Ajay Singh. Congratulations.