Immersion, a developer and licensor of what is known as haptic
feedback technology, which can be used to make joysticks vibrate in
synch with on-screen events, yesterday sued Microsoft and Sony in a
Californian court for alleged infringement of its patents.
Immersion holds over 150 patents for its haptic (meaning
“touch”) technology, which are licensed for use in computing,
entertainment, medical simulation and motor car manufacture. The
company claims that Sony and Microsoft infringe two of its patents
and that its out-of-court negotiations with the companies have
failed.
The company says it already has licensees in the gaming console
market which have developed more than 40 touch-enabled gaming
peripherals currently shipping for the Microsoft Xbox and Sony
PlayStation platforms.
