Patent Law

Pulp Business

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

In 2002, Immersion sued Microsoft & Sony for patent infringement. In 2003, Microsoft settled, with Microsoft paying Immersion $26 million. In a secret codicil, Immersion was to pay a kickback to Microsoft from the proceeds of successfully suing Sony for the same infringement. Sony settled with Immersion in March 2007. Immersion sat pat. So, in June 2007, Microsoft sued Immersion for reneging on the kickback.

Now Immersion has come clean, if that's any possible construction of this sordid squabble, tipping Microsoft $20.75 million, and gushing about a partnership agreement with Microsoft, literally getting ready to rumble: adding touch feedback to touch screens for use in Microsoft's shrug off of the hapless Vista, the forthcoming Windows 7 operating system, due out in 2010.

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on August 27, 2008 (boomark / email).