Nintendo targeted in 3DS patent action
Ex-Sony engineer claims infringement was "deliberate and wilful"
An ex-Sony engineer, scientist and inventor has accused Nintendo of "deliberate and wilful" infringement of technology patents relating to the naked eye 3D technology used in the Nintendo 3DS.
Seijiro Tomita worked for Sony for 30 years as an engineer. Now his company, Tomita Technologies, works on pioneering tech inventions and holds hundreds of patents worldwide.
One those patents is for a "stereoscopic image picking up and display system based upon optical axes cross-point information" which Tomita argues is technology used in the top screen of the 3DS.
Similar patents are held by Tomita Technologies in both the US and Japan.
Whilst several other third parties have licenced the technology for use in other devices, neither Nintendo of Japan or America has done so.
Tomita is reportedly seeking to establish a pattern of continued infringement on Nintendo's behalf and to claim damages and court costs as a result. No official Nintendo response is yet available.