Immersion v. Sony
| Immersion v. Sony | |
|---|---|
| Court | United States District Court for the Northern District of California |
| Full case name | Immersion Corporation v. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. et al |
| Decided | March 8, 2006 |
| Docket nos. | 4:02-cv-00710 |
| Defendant | Sony Computer Entertainment America |
| Plaintiff | Immersion Corporation |
| Case history | |
| Subsequent actions | Affirmed, 239 F. App'x 578 (Fed. Cir. 2007) |
| Court membership | |
| Judge sitting | Claudia Ann Wilken |
In February 2002, Sony and Microsoft were sued by Immersion Corporation for patent infringement for the use of haptic technology in their gaming controllers. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Microsoft settled the matter out of court, but Sony defended the case. Sony lost the case in September 2004 and appealed the decision.
Sony lost the appeal at the US District Court level in March 2006, resulting in the suspension of the sale of all controllers containing Immersion-patented technology, including all PlayStation and PlayStation 2 console packages. It also resulted in the removal of the vibration functionality from the PlayStation 3 controller at its launch. An agreement was reached with both companies in March 2007 and resulted in Sony paying Immersion Corporation $97.2 million in addition to royalties.