Gamevice, the maker of game controllers for phones, wants the Switch banned

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Animal Crossing New Horizons Journal Switch Hero
Animal Crossing New Horizons Journal Switch Hero (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

What you need to know

  • Gamevice is claiming patent infringement by Nintendo.
  • It says the Switch should be banned from being imported into the US.
  • Gamevice tried this once before and was laughed out of court.

Gamevice apparently doesn't learn its lesson. After previously being told by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board that it couldn't claim Nintendo's Switch console infringed upon its patents, the company is at it again. And now it wants the Switch banned from being imported into the United States.

The new claim, spotted by GoNintendo, not only sees Gamevice again want Nintendo to be held accountable for so-called patent infringement, but it also wants the original case to be opened back up, too.

Gamevice

Gamevice (Image credit: Gamevice)

Gamevice filed a new patent-infringement complaint against Nintendo, while at the same time appealing the earlier case it lost. Gamevice says they were issued a patent for a game controller in August that Nintendo has infringed upon. Gamevice's device is for use with smartphones and tablets, and Gamevice is aiming to stop U.S. import of the Switch because of this so-called infringement.

That original legal spat came to a close just last month after Gamevice was told that it wasn't going to win any of the 19 claims that it brought against Nintendo. Seemingly keen to keep its lawyers in a job at this difficult time, it's having another pass at it.

I can't see things ending any differently this time around!

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.