Fairchild Semiconductor Corp. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd.

Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation (Fairchild) (plaintiff) produced home video entertainment systems and was assigned rights for the ’791 patent. The ’791 patent claims described a game apparatus connected to a television that included a console with parameter-selection switches and a game-cartridge chute containing connector and locking mechanisms. As the claims detailed, the locking mechanism activated automatically when a cartridge was inserted, and a physical catch held the cartridge in place against pressure from a spring-loaded rotating connector. The connector mechanism provided an electrical connection between the game and console and utilized a low-friction game-cartridge assembly that locked into place with a spring. The console also included multiple parameter-selection switches. Nintendo Co., Ltd. (Nintendo) (defendant) released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), a console that connected to a television and read game data from cartridges. The console had a locking mechanism for cartridges that was activated by the console’s power switch and was not physically part of the cartridge chute. The SNES’s connector mechanism used a high-friction edge-card connector without a lock or spring. Additionally, the SNES had parameter-selection switches on both the console and the hand controllers. Fairchild filed suit against Nintendo arguing that the SNES’s locking mechanism, connector design, and parameter switches infringed on the ’791 patent.