Sony sued by US university over PS2 chip tech
Print storyToshiba targeted too
Posted in Personal, 27th October 2003 13:57 GMT
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The University of Wisconsin Madison has filed a suit against Sony and Toshiba, claiming that technology being used in the creation of the PlayStation 2's Emotion Engine processor infringes a patent which was filed by the university in 1986.
Little information about the lawsuit or the patent it deals with is available at the moment, although we do know that the University is seeking damages and a halt to the use of the technology in question.
The PS2 is based on a MIPS processing core with custom extensions added to it to improve the efficiency of the console. This unit is known as the EE Core - while Emotion Engine is a term used to describe this component and several others which are integrated onto a single chip and provide the console's processing power.
Toshiba had a hand in designing this component for Sony, and was originally involved in manufacturing the chips as well. It's thought that the lawsuit centres on the manufacturing process involved in creating Emotion Engine devices, not any technology on board the chip itself, and as such both Sony and Toshiba are targeted by the suit.
Copyright © 2003, GamesIndustry.biz
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