Gamevice files lawsuit against Nintendo Switch

Nintendo is facing a new lawsuit over the design of the Switch. According to Engadget,accessory maker Gamevice has taken issue with the tablet-based console, alleging that it has violated a patent used in the company’s Wikipad device, a gaming-focused Android tablet.

Gamevice is also arguing that the Switch and its removable Joy-Con controllers are too similar to its titular add-on controllers for mobile devices, which extend to wrap around the edges of a phone or tablet to provide extra buttons.

Naturally, the suit is seeking both injunctive relief to ban further sales of the Switch and monetary damages.

There are certainly similarities between the two devices. The Wikipad, for instance, included a detachable game controller that both held the tablet in place and provided extra buttons and controls along the sides, while the Gamevice controller is a more refined version of the product for Apple and Samsung smartphone devices.

However, given that Nintendo seems to be equally diligent about filing patents for its various devices, Gamevice may find it has a difficult road ahead.

That said, Nintendo did lose a lawsuit to Philips in the UK over its Wii motion controllers back in 2014. Philips sued Nintendo in multiple territories, and won against the platform holder in the UK High Court, where Nintendo was found guilty of infringing two of the company’s patents for motion technology.

As reported by Polygon at the time, the UK High Court said: "The common general knowledge did not include a device combining a physical motion sensor with a camera and the reasons advanced by Nintendo for putting those two sensors together in one unit are unconvincing."