Judge Denies Sony Appeal, Claims DualShock Controller an Infringement (News)

Vicious Sid, GamePro

14/03/2006 11:58:55

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony has lost its appeal against tech company Immersion in a case that puts the continued sale of the DualShock controller, and even some games, in some question.

A federal judge today upheld the first decision, noting that Sony's new witness was "unreliable" because of a $150,000 advance the company had given him for future technology patents.

The matter started when Immersion sued both Microsoft and Sony for allegedly infringing upon its technology when the companies designed their force-feedback controllers. Microsoft settled with Immersion, but Sony refused to back down. After Sony lost the first court fight, the judge orded that Sony pay $90.7 million to immersion and pull the DualShock controller, as well as games like Metal Gear Solid 2 and GTA: Vice City, off store shelves.

Sony was able to keep their games and controllers on store shelves throughout the appeal process, but now that the video game giant has lost the appeal, the future of those products is unknown.

How will Sony proceed? Will the company be forced to redesign their controllers or recall some of their biggest software hits? We've contacted Sony for their side of the story.