ComputerMKII
Banned
Sorry for the mediocre translation...
Source: http://www.pcinpact.com/news/82016-une-retraitee-75-ans-revendique-etre-a-origine-wii-fit.htm
Source: http://www.pcinpact.com/news/82016-une-retraitee-75-ans-revendique-etre-a-origine-wii-fit.htm
Retired woman, 75 years-old, claims to be the origin of Wii Fit
And demands 22 million euros from Nintendo
In September 1985, Nicole, a physical therapist from Orléans, France, developed a tray for physical exercise to help "find balance." According to her, this machine has very similar properties to the Nintendo Wii Fit and intends to seek reparations from the Japanese manufacturer - about 20 million euros.
Nicole Walthert, a physiotherapist, aged 75 and now retired, threatens Nintendo with a lawsuit for infringement of one of her patents. Indeed, it was invented in 1985 a "sporting tray", accompanied by a booklet of exercises to work on one's balance. Her invention even caught the attention of the jury of the Concours Lépine (a French invention contest), who rewarded her in May 1986.
The first prototype, called Bull-Test consists of a tray, springs and several spirit levels, and sold about 2,000 copies. It was improved in 2006, with the addition of electronic sensors to "record the weight, whether you're crouching or standing straight, arches curved or straight" says Nicole Walthertto our colleagues of newspaper Le Figaro. This second version was patented in the same year. The European Patent Office gave her a grant on July 1 this year, which will allow her to continue the legal proceedings she initiated in 2010 against Nintendo, in which she has already spent more than 50,000 euros.
According to the retired woman, the Nintendo Wii Fit, launched in 2008, includes many elements from her nvention, although she admits that it does not use springs, unlike the product now called Lift-Gym. If Madame Walthert admits she would have given her the patent to the manufacturer for "the price of a studio apartment" she now claims one euro per copy of Wii Fit sold worldwide, representing no less than 22 million euros. A tidy sum that will allow her to spend her last days free from need or want.
The case of this woman from Orléans is reminiscent of Seijiro Tomita, who sued Nintendo for similar offenses relating to glassless 3D display technology of the 3DS console. As a reminder, the Japanese giant was then sentenced to pay back $30.2 million in damages to the complainant, who requested 280 million.