InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

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Sony loses patent infringment suit:

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Associated Press

Sony Ordered to Pay PlayStation2 Damages
Sunday March 27, 11:57 pm ET

By Yuri Kageyama, AP Business Writer

Sony's Video Game Unit Ordered to Pay $90.7M in Damages Over PlayStation2 Lawsuit


TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp.'s video game unit has been ordered to pay $90.7 million in damages over a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States related to the PlayStation2 console, the company said Monday.


But the Tokyo-based company will fight the decision by the federal district court in Oakland, California, and appeal to the U.S. High Court, a Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

In the March 24 decision, Sony Computer Entertainment was ordered to pay damages to Immersion Corp., based in San Jose, California, which develops and licenses digital technology.

In a 2002 lawsuit, Immersion accused Sony of patent infringement with the Dual Shock controller for the PlayStation and PlayStation 2. Dual Shock makes the controller shake in time with what's going on in the game.

Sony denies that Dual Shock violates Immersion's patents, the Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman said. He said he could not give more details because the lawsuit is pending.

The district court decision included an order to suspend PlayStation sales but that order does not hold while an appeal is being heard. Sony will continue to sell its game machines in the United States, the spokesman said.

Sony's PlayStation platform is the No. 1 home game console in the world.