Impulse Technology has filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that Kinect infringes on seven of its patents.
More specifically, the Ohio-based company claims that the motion-sensing Kinect and its games infringe on its patents concerning a "system and method for tracking and assessing movement skills in multidimensional space," and an "education system challenging a subject's physiologic and kinesthetic systems to synergistically enhance cognitive function."
Before filing the lawsuit, Impulse Technology notified Microsoft that it holds patents that cover a "wide variety of games where the movement of a player is tracked in three dimensions ... and certain exercise games where the motion of the player is tracked to effect movement of a virtual avatar, and the exertion of the user is monitored, including where the tracking of the player is done by use of a camera."
In the lawsuit, Impulse Technolgy seeks permanent injunction, damages, interest, attorney's fees and costs. The company has also named eight Kinect game developers, including EA, Sega, and Konami, as defendants, accusing them of making, selling and importing into the U.S. games that infringe on its patents.
