No more “teledildonics” tussle, no more bad vibes with outside counsel, and no more wrestling with L.A. porn lawyers.
Immersion and Internet Services finally stopped poking at each other in the courtroom, reaching an anticlimactic settlement today, according to an Immersion press release. The small company claimed it had an exclusive license to Immersion’s patent for "a man-machine interface which provides tactile feedback to various sensing body parts” — and was using it develop software that would let people touch and feel the action on X-rated web sites and video games. Because of the license, Internet Services said it should get some bang out of Immersion’s 82 million bucks won from Sony in an infringement case involving the same patent.
But the courts never thought the case was all that hot. And then came the lawyer-on-lawyer action: The company got into a nasty fight with its attorneys at Keker & Van Nest, with one of L.A.’s leading porn lawyers in the middle. Keker finally pulled out of the case in June and L.A.’s Spillane Shaeffer Aronoff Bandlow came on board.
Once the judge tossed all of Internet Services’ claims, the company knew Immersion’s lawyers at Irell & Manella had it beat. Last in line were Immersion’s counterclaims against Internet Services. The settlement—in a move so unusual for this industry—is being kept discreetly private. So Legal Pad can only hope it was good for everyone.
— Zusha Elinson
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