Microsoft sue Immersion

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Just saw this today, seems like immersion have been a bit silly if they didnt read there contract.
Microsoft sues Immersion for contract breach
Posted by Ina Fried

Microsoft said on Monday that it has filed suit against Immersion, a company whose technology adds tactile feedback to joysticks and other controllers.

Immersion had originally sued Microsoft, along with Sony, back in 2002., but the two companies reached a settlement in 2003. Under that deal Microsoft agreed to pay Immersion $26 million for licensing rights and for a stake in the company. However, Microsoft said Monday that Immersion has not lived up other terms of that deal, including a provision that requires Immersion to pay Microsoft "based on certain business and IP licensing arrangements."

"We entered into a binding licensing agreement with Immersion and are seeking to have that agreement honored," Microsoft Associate General Counsel Steve Aeschbacher said in a statement. "Microsoft licenses technology both in and out and relies on these agreements to be honored and enforced. Our request to the court is that all companies and industry partners should play by the same rules and that the binding agreement we signed with Immersion be honored."
An Immersion representative could not immediately be reached for comment.

Update 10:00 p.m.: Todd Bishop at the Seattle P-I has done some good digging to get at the heart of the dispute using court and regulatory filings. It appears Microsoft had a clause that it stood to get payments if Immersion and Sony settled. Sony and Immersion reached an arrangement, but Microsoft and Immersion dispute the implications of that. For more, check out Todd's blog on the matter.

I guess microsoft rarely dont want Sony to have a rumble sixaxis then?
 
They should have dumped sixaxis and stuck with rumble in the first place if it was possible, seems to me that sixaxis was clearly an afterthought in reaction to the wii...
 
The shareholders are fine with the decisions being made in the gaming division. They see it as a long term investment (5-10+ years just to get it established) and the two xbox consoles are viewed as a way to gain a foothold in the console market. I've said this in an earlier thread, but Microsoft makes a henious amount of profit and often backs the gaming division up with earnings from the office software division and etc.

Also, Microsoft expects the gaming division to finally break even and even make profit in the third or fourth quarter of this year. (Shane Kim)
 
so Initialy Immersion was paid around $120M by Sony split into $22m and $98m?

Immersion are trying to say they are ligitimately split but MS believe they should be basically be getting back the cost of their original licence agreement with Immersion


Cant see what Immersion are argueing about to be honest - seems like its a pretty crafy split of payments to me if I have read it right

Makes no difference to Sony however either way, MS cant stop Sony using the technology.
 
Immersion have danced with the devil and now its the walk home.. you know someones gonna get raped.
 
gord said:
you know someones gonna get raped.

razj6.gif


sorry, i just had to dig him out again


Back on topic; who do you think the winner of this lawsuit will be?
 
KNiVES said:
The shareholders are fine with the decisions being made in the gaming division. They see it as a long term investment (5-10+ years just to get it established) and the two xbox consoles are viewed as a way to gain a foothold in the console market. I've said this in an earlier thread, but Microsoft makes a henious amount of profit and often backs the gaming division up with earnings from the office software division and etc.

Also, Microsoft expects the gaming division to finally break even and even make profit in the third or fourth quarter of this year. (Shane Kim)

your insight into the minds of ms shareholders is outstanding, how do you do it?. lol
Anywho this is an open and shut case, but if ms own part of immersion are they not suing themselves?
 
KNiVES said:
I think it will be Microsoft. Their lawyers are sharks.
Its not so much their lawyers are 'sharks', top lawyers can be found all over the place.

The problem with going against Microsoft is that they have enough resources to outstay almost anyone else in the courtroom. So if they have even the slightest feeling they might lose a case, they just keep it going for years and years until the other party cant sustain their case and Microsoft win by default.
 
gord said:
Its not so much their lawyers are 'sharks', top lawyers can be found all over the place.

The problem with going against Microsoft is that they have enough resources to outstay almost anyone else in the courtroom. So if they have even the slightest feeling they might lose a case, they just keep it going for years and years until the other party cant sustain their case and Microsoft win by default.

i dont think they would be able to keep a case running for longer than 3-5 years max, and if they were to do this? and they lost the case they would have to pay the other sides legal fees too, think about 5 years of legal fee's for top lawyers, im pretty sure any company like immersion or sony can keep a case running for 5 years and more
 
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