LUFKIN, Texas – The national law firm of McKool Smith is announcing a $21 million patent infringement verdict in favor of Tyler, Texas-based Anascape Ltd. against Redmond, Wash.-based Nintendo of America Inc., a subsidiary of Japan’s Nintendo Co. Ltd. (NTDO.Y).
The verdict handed down yesterday, May 14, concludes nearly two years of litigation over a series of protected Anascape patents related to video game controllers. The jury’s verdict followed two weeks of trial before the Hon. Ron Clark of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Lufkin Division.
Anascape was represented by a team of attorneys from McKool Smith and Tyler, Texas-based Parker, Bunt & Ainsworth. The McKool Smith team included firm principal and lead counsel Douglas A. Cawley, firm principals Sam Baxter and firm associate Chris Bovenkamp. The Parker, Bunt team included Robert M. Parker, Christopher Bunt and Charles Ainsworth.
“We are extremely pleased with the jury’s verdict,” says Mr. Cawley, who regularly represents clients in patent claims in the Eastern District of Texas. “Anascape may be a tiny company compared to Nintendo, but today’s verdict confirms that the company’s technology is second to none.”
The jury found that various controllers sold by Nintendo, including the GameCube controller, GameCube Wavebird controller, Wii Classic controller and Wii Remote, infringed Anascape’s patent, and awarded Anascape $21 million. Nintendo is one of the largest suppliers of game controllers and related equipment in the multi-billion-dollar video game industry.
McKool Smith has more than 90 attorneys handling commercial and intellectual property litigation for national and international clients, including Fortune 500 companies, universities, start-ups, and individuals. The firm is recognized as one of the premier litigation and trial firms in the United States, having earned significant courtroom victories for clients such as American Airlines, Electronic Data Systems, BearingPoint, Ericsson, Lockheed Martin, Medtronic Inc. and National Instruments.
For more information on the verdict, please contact Bruce Vincent at 800-559-4534 or bruce@androvett.com.