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Back in February 2021 we wrote an article about how Ironburg Inventions (a subsidiary of Corsair Gaming) were suing Valve for the Steam Controller and Valve has now firmly lost the case. As a brief reminder to save clicking around: Ironburg hold a patent on a controller with two buttons on the back, they sued Valve since the Steam Controller has back paddles.

In the new ruling that can be seen here, Judge Thomas S. Zilly has denied Valve's attempt to have a new trial and overturn the initial jury decision of $4,029,533.93 in damages. Overall it didn't go too well with Valve's defence stating how it was "about as straightforward a patent case as you could ever hope to get" and that the jury would have "no trouble making the right decision at the end of this case" based on the Steam Controller and the Patent. Zilly mentioned "The Court agrees that this case is straightforward and can be decided on the ’525 Patent and the accused device. The jury appears to have done exactly that, but defendant does not like the result the jury reached. Defendant’s dissatisfaction does not constitute grounds for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial." — ouch.

Not ideal for Valve, however, the judge also decided that Valve's infringement wasn't enough to award enhanced damages which could have been a real disaster. For Valve though, is four million dollars a lot? They print money thanks to Steam, so not likely. Since Valve no longer produce the Steam Controller, cutting their losses here is probably a good idea.

As it turns out, the previous hints of a new Steam Controller that might have come with four back-buttons appears to not be happening either. In the court documents we can see developers from Valve clearly mention the four-button approach did not survive their original iterative design process after many tests. Shame. I absolutely loved the Steam Controller, so a new version that got around the patent issues with a tweaked design would have been ideal. Well, at least we shall have the upcoming SteamPal console perhaps.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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32 comments
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1xok Jun 1, 2021
Funnily enough, the Steam Controller had the best back paddles of any controller (as far as I can tell). And their construction is so simple how can you patent something like that? The decisive factor is the technical implementation.

But it has only become clear to me why Valve is diligently applying for patents. :)

It's annoying, but I suspect Valve won't go bust because of it.


Last edited by 1xok on 1 June 2021 at 7:20 pm UTC
tmhorne Jun 1, 2021
Does the N64 controller not count? The Z button was on the back. Prior art.
acejavelin Jun 1, 2021
Still have a couple unopen, sealed Steam Controllers I picked up for next to nothing when they were closing them out a few years ago... They got shuffled into a box and forgotten until we started going through boxes over the winter from moving. Looking at the going prices for new ones on eBay, maybe I should just store them for a few years and then sell them off. lol
einherjar Jun 1, 2021
This "patents" that do not even describe a method how to exactly do it, are utter bullshit.
Mohandevir Jun 1, 2021
Quoting: GuestDo you paladins really think Valve owns no patents?

Does it changes my stance regarding "paytents"? Let me think... Nope!
Luke_Nukem Jun 1, 2021
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: Luke_NukemGeez. I know with absolute certainty that a decade or so ago I had a controller with back buttons like this. No idea if I've still got it, might look for it. Something like a gioteck maybe?

The patent is from 2011. Geez.

Well geez. Sorry my sense of time is skewed, I'm old. I was at least 12 years or more, and not Corsair or Ironburg Inventions branded afaik unless the company that made it was bought.
slaapliedje Jun 2, 2021
Quoting: Luke_Nukem
Quoting: Guest
Quoting: Luke_NukemGeez. I know with absolute certainty that a decade or so ago I had a controller with back buttons like this. No idea if I've still got it, might look for it. Something like a gioteck maybe?

The patent is from 2011. Geez.

Well geez. Sorry my sense of time is skewed, I'm old. I was at least 12 years or more, and not Corsair or Ironburg Inventions branded afaik unless the company that made it was bought.
Yeah, this is a horse shit patent. Joysticks / controllers have had buttons on the back / bottom, all over the place for years.
NoSt Jun 2, 2021
I don't think this will affect Valve to a great extent. Four million dollars is not a serious sum for them, and, as I understand it, they didn't really have any plans to continue the development of Steam Controller.
It's a shame you can have a patent on something so minor (in my opinion), but the current patent system works like this...
Termy Jun 2, 2021
You know your patent system is garbage if there is a patent for fucking buttons on the back that can be successfully sued for instead of being immediately revoked by the judge...
Mal Jun 2, 2021
  • Supporter
Quoting: GuestDo you paladins really think Valve owns no patents?

Patent portfolios are a sad norm in the modern industry. It's what you do with them that makes the difference.

They are the nuclear deterrent equivalent of business, a "lawsuit weapon" arsenal that can be used both for offence and defense. I.e.: if you lawsuit me for your patent I counterlawsuit you with mines ensuring mutual destruction.

And then there are trolls. Who do what your average troll would do with a nuclear weapon. Use it to blackmail people and get some cash.


Last edited by Mal on 2 June 2021 at 9:21 pm UTC
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