Immersion wins patent-infringement suit vs. Sony

This week, a federal jury awarded San Jose-based Immersion $82 million in a patent-infringement suit that the firm had brought against Sony. The court found that the PlayStation hardware, as well as the Dual Shock controllers and 47 different game titles released by the company, all infringed on Immersion's patents. Sony said it will appeal the decision.

The infringements all centered around force feedback devices; the company holds patents for what it calls "vibro-tactile" technologies that make the video game player feel as if he is "touching" an object in the game. The jury's award was less than the amount requested--in fact, Immersion had asked for $299 million in damages.

Immersion brought lawsuits against Sony and Microsoft in 2002. Last year, the company settled with Microsoft to the tune of $26 million. Microsoft acquired a 10 percent stake in the company under the terms of the settlement.