The Intellectual Property High Court of Japan dismissed a patent lawsuit between video game publishers Koei Tecmo and Capcom, Capcom announced last Thursday. Koei sought to rescind a decision by the Japan Patent Office in Capcom’s favor in an earlier case between the two companies.
The legal troubles began in 2014 when Capcom filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Koei Tecmo. The “Dynasty Warriors” publisher had infringed on multiple patents, Capcom said. One was for a controller vibrator function that alerts the player when enemies are nearby. The other was for a method of unlocking bonus content when a game’s DVD-ROM is put in a game console. The lawsuit is seeking a settlement of about $9.43 million, according to Polygon.
Koei Tecmo responded with its own lawsuits seeking to invalidate Capcom’s patents. In both cases, the Japan Patent Office decided to uphold the patents. Koei Tecmo then filed suits to rescind those decisions, but the Intellectual Property High Court dismissed Koei Tecmo’s claims.
“Capcom believes that with this decision, the Intellectual Property High Court has demonstrated sound judgement, and further, following its recent decision to uphold Capcom’s patent in a lawsuit to rescind a decision, has also recognized the validity of the patent,” Capcom said in a press release. “Capcom is committed to improving customer experiences and expanding the game industry by promoting the effective use of its patents through methods such as licensing, while safeguarding the inventions associated with each of its titles.”
Capcom’s original patent infringement lawsuit is still ongoing.
