Sony Corp and Immersion Corp said they have settled their long-simmering patent dispute over the vibration technology that shakes video game controllers, and will work together to bring the so-called "rumble" function back to PlayStation products.
The litigation threatened to halt the Japanese company's US sales of PlayStation and PlayStation 2 consoles, controllers and games that use Immersion's "vibro-tactile" technology. The patented technology adds a sense of realism to videogame play by jolting the player's hands whenever there's gunfire, explosions, crashes or other dramatic on-screen events.
Jump
Immersion's shares jumped nearly 32 percent in after-hours trading, while Sony's stock was down 3.6 percent in Tokyo.
Immersion sued Sony Computer Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment America in 2002 seeking US$299 million in damages.
A federal court jury found in 2004 that Sony violated two of Immersion's patents, and a judge the next year ordered Sony to pay hefty damages and stop selling products with the patented technology. The court issued an immediate stay until Sony's appeal could be resolved.
The companies said in a joint statement on Thursday that the settlement resolves all pending litigation between them surrounding the patented technology.
As part of the truce, Sony will pay San Jose-based Immersion US$97.2 million in damages and interest, as stipulated in the original court award that Sony was appealing. Sony will also pay US$22.5 million in licensing payments through 2009 plus an unspecified amount of fees and royalties.
In total, Sony will cough up at least US$150.3 million to settle the litigation, when factoring in US$30.6 million in compulsory license payments the Japanese company has already paid.
Return
In return, Sony will get unspecified rights to some of Immersion's patents and will explore ways to include the technology in future PlayStation products. No further details of the business arrangement or terms of the deal were disclosed.
Sony, which did not include the vibration function in the new PlayStation 3 hardware, said the conclusion of the litigation would not have a material impact on its earnings forecast released on Jan. 30.
Immersion's shares jumped US$2.30, or nearly 32 percent, to US$9.53 in after-hours trading after the settlement was announced and the company reported a narrower loss for the fourth quarter. Immersion's shares were down US$0.07 during the regular session on the NASDAQ Stock Market.
Sony's stock was down about 3.6 percent to ?5,950 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique