MS, Nintendo defend patents allegations

Microsoft and Nintendo received favourable rulings in a Washington court of appeal, confirming the companies did not violate a patent related to video game controller power conversions, states Gamasutra.

The console manufacturers were sued by patent holder Fenner Investments three years ago. Fenner claims the companies' gaming devices unlawfully employed a patented design converting the signal from a 5-volt controller port to a lower voltage.

The court says there are no genuine issues of material fact in Fenners claims, and that no reasonable jury could find the accused devices of Microsoft and Nintendo as infringing on Fenner's patent.

Dell has sued five Asian companies for price-fixing on LCD panels, alleging Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, Seiko Epson, and HannStar formed a cartel, states CIO Today.

The computer maker filed the suit in the US District Court in San Francisco. The 61-page complaint says it filed suit "on behalf of itself and its affiliates to recover for antitrust and other harms arising from billions of dollars of purchases at artificially inflated prices over several years, of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display panels, or products containing TFT-LCD panels."

None of the companies in the suit have issued an official comment, although prior charges saw Sharp agree to pay a $120 million fine for price-fixing in April 2001 and December 2006, with Hitachi also agreeing to pay $31 million for the same offense.

Verizon Communications has filed a patent-infringement complaint with US trade officials, seeking to block imports of television set-top boxes for Cablevision Systems, says Business Week.

In the complaint, Verizon claims Cablevision is infringing five patents. New York-based Verizon seeks to halt imports of digital set-top boxes brought into the US by or on behalf of Cablevision, plus any related software.

The patents are related to boxes with advanced features such as the ability to download videos or provide functions such as games, local weather and social networking. Verizon said it uses the inventions in its FiOS television service, which competes with Cablevision for customers.