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Nintendo required to pay ex-Sony engineer $15 million for 3D patent

Dave Cook avatar
News by Dave Cook Contributor
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Nintendo has been ordered to pay ex-Sony engineer Seijiro Tomita $15 million in compensation for use of his 3D imaging patent in 3DS consoles.

CVG reports that Tomita won the case back in March and was looking for $30 million.

However on Wednesday, federal judge Jed Rakoff deemed that Tomita must accept $15 million in damages or he may forfeit the whole figure, deeming the initial figure, "intrinsically excessive and unsupported by the evidence presented at trial". He added that when the suit was originally filed in 2011 the 3DS was not profitable.

Nintendo has appealed for an overturn, but Rakoff has thrown out the plea, while company spokesperson Charlie Scibetta said in a statement, "Nintendo respects the intellectual property rights of other companies and is confident that none of its products infringes the asserted patent. Nintendo will appeal the jury's verdict and reduced damages award to the court of appeals."

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