Wii wand faces patent lawsuit

Nintendo's hit Wii console with its wand-like remote controller has been targeted in patent-infringement complaints by a United States technology company.

Hillcrest Laboratories, based in Rockville, Maryland, had filed a complaint with the US International Trade Commission in Washington DC, and a patent-infringement lawsuit in the US District Court in Maryland against Nintendo Corp, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Kyoto-based Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said yesterday the Japanese video game company had not yet received the lawsuit and had no comment.

Hillcrest is accusing Nintendo of infringement in four patents dealing with technology for a handheld three-dimensional pointing device and a display interface system for organizing graphic content on a TV.

"While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights," it said.

The Wii has been a big hit around the world, selling a cumulative 29.6 million globally since its arrival in late 2006.

The Wii has scored major successes against the PlayStation 3 from Japanese rival Sony Corp, which went on sale about the same time, as well as against the Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp.

Nintendo aims to sell 25 million Wii consoles in the fiscal year through March 2009.