A U.S. federal jury has found Nintendo guilty of stealing the idea for glasses-free 3D technology from a former Sony employee. According to Reuters, Nintendo will have to pay Seijiro Tomita $30.2 million for infringing on a 2008 patent he holds for technology that allows a user to see 3D images without wearing 3D glasses, much like what the Nintendo 3DS is promoted as capable of doing. He filed the lawsuit in 2011, claiming Nintendo ripped off his idea, while Nintendo‘s lawyers claim that Tomita was only one of several people the company met with over glasses-free 3D tech.
It’s unknown whether or not Nintendo will be filing an appeal (they probably will), but it’s not the first time they’ve been taken to court for patent issues — they won three lawsuits in 2012 based on patents revolving around the GameCube and Wii Fit — but this is the first case we can think of offhand that they’ve actually lost.
Tojira worked for Sony for 30 years before retiring in 2002 to concentrate on inventing. Gamasutra reports that he holds over 100 patent applications, including the one in question, which he says Nintendo “deliberately and willfully” violated.
The judgment does not, as far as we know, have any impact on the continued sale of the Nintendo 3DS in the US.
