Nintendo and Colopl have reached a settlement in a multi-year patent dispute relating to Colopl’s mobile title White Cat Project (known in Japan as Shironeko Project).
Nintendo originally filed the lawsuit at the start of 2018, accusing the Tokyo-based mobile studio of infringing several of its technology patents.
The companies have now agreed to terms that resolve the case.
Under the settlement, Colopl will pay Nintendo 3.3 billion yen and will also make payments for future licenses to use the disputed Nintendo patents.
That payment figure was confirmed as part of the settlement agreement, which brings to an end litigation that began with Nintendo’s suit in early 2018.
Nintendo’s initial complaint alleged infringement of five technical patents.
In journalistic terms, Nintendo asserted that Colopl’s software used multiple patented technologies, notably a patent covering the use of a touch panel to emulate joystick input.
Those patent claims were the core of Nintendo’s case when it took legal action nearly immediately after filing.
White Cat Project, developed and published by Colopl, is one of the company’s flagship mobile games and launched on iOS and Android in 2014.
Colopl has been a prominent player in the Japanese mobile market, and the company’s titles have been part of a broader wave of mobile development that intersects with hardware and interface innovations from console makers such as Nintendo.
Nintendo, the maker of the Nintendo Switch and operator of digital channels including the Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Direct presentations, has increasingly sought to protect its technology and intellectual property across platforms.
This settlement represents a substantive monetary resolution and an agreement on licensing going forward.
The parties did not disclose further commercial terms beyond the payment amount and future licensing commitments.
With the settlement in place, the formal legal dispute that began in 2018 has been closed, allowing both companies to move past litigation and focus on their respective businesses and product roadmaps.
For industry observers, the case underscores how smartphone game design and input methods can intersect with patents held by console manufacturers.
The settlement resolves this specific dispute between Nintendo and Colopl and clarifies the licensing stance for the technologies at issue.
Nintendo originally filed the lawsuit at the start of 2018, accusing the Tokyo-based mobile studio of infringing several of its technology patents.
The companies have now agreed to terms that resolve the case.
Under the settlement, Colopl will pay Nintendo 3.3 billion yen and will also make payments for future licenses to use the disputed Nintendo patents.
That payment figure was confirmed as part of the settlement agreement, which brings to an end litigation that began with Nintendo’s suit in early 2018.
Nintendo’s initial complaint alleged infringement of five technical patents.
In journalistic terms, Nintendo asserted that Colopl’s software used multiple patented technologies, notably a patent covering the use of a touch panel to emulate joystick input.
Those patent claims were the core of Nintendo’s case when it took legal action nearly immediately after filing.
White Cat Project, developed and published by Colopl, is one of the company’s flagship mobile games and launched on iOS and Android in 2014.
Colopl has been a prominent player in the Japanese mobile market, and the company’s titles have been part of a broader wave of mobile development that intersects with hardware and interface innovations from console makers such as Nintendo.
Nintendo, the maker of the Nintendo Switch and operator of digital channels including the Nintendo eShop and Nintendo Direct presentations, has increasingly sought to protect its technology and intellectual property across platforms.
This settlement represents a substantive monetary resolution and an agreement on licensing going forward.
The parties did not disclose further commercial terms beyond the payment amount and future licensing commitments.
With the settlement in place, the formal legal dispute that began in 2018 has been closed, allowing both companies to move past litigation and focus on their respective businesses and product roadmaps.
For industry observers, the case underscores how smartphone game design and input methods can intersect with patents held by console manufacturers.
The settlement resolves this specific dispute between Nintendo and Colopl and clarifies the licensing stance for the technologies at issue.