Patent for vibration inside game controllers, your genitals, held by same company
A company called "Immersion" holds a patent that allows them to claim royalties for things that vibrate or provide force-feedback. They're the reason that Sony's Playstation 3 controllers had no rumble features at first — it took losing an $82 million lawsuit before Sony capitulated.
But you know what else vibrates? Things you put inside yourself for sexual pleasure. (Including my personal all-natural pleasure generator: a jar of bees. Just be sure to keep the lid on tight or it won't just be a colony that's collapsing.)
Immersion didn't want to enforce its patents on teledildonic gaming devices — the name is also the cleaning instructions! — so they licensed the rights to the blandly named "Internet Services, LLC", who is in turn suing some other people and then the lawyer left so they sued him and oh I appear to be falling asleep.
Point is, the very same company who makes money for people putting pager motors in videogame controllers also will get money every time you use a USB pocket pleasurer or a commercial interactive deep core drilling simulation. Or would in theory, provided anyone actually used teledildonics for anything more than fodder for tittering.
Keker & Van Nest wants to get away from client with cybersex patent rights; won't say why [The Priot Art via Techdirt]
Previously • SeXBox: Using force feedback signals for sex toys [BB]
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The two patents in question (http://www.google.com/patents?id=0koWAAAAEBAJ and http://www.google.com/patents?id=nREIAAAAEBAJ) date from 1999 and 2001 and seem to be for the same thing, what a racket. Also, how much longer can Immersion (issued the 1999 patent, above) claim an exclusive on a patent, I thought patents ran out after 7 years or something like that?
Quick google search turns this up:
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/help/item/When-does-a-patent-expire.html
Upshot is, either 17 or (for patents filed after 1995, which this probably was) 20 years, according to freepatentsonline.com. Good to see that innovation is being promoted by lengthening the patent term.