Processors Toolkit

Court dismisses most Sony claims against Connectix

ZDNet US ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 17 May 2000 12:09 BST

The decision should come as no surprise: In February, an appeals court lifted a preliminary injunction that prevented Connectix from shipping VGS. In that ruling, the judges sided with Connectix on the key issues in the dispute and remanded the case to the lower court for a final decision.

Sony alleged that VGS, a program that allows Macs to run many games designed for Sony's PlayStation, violated its copyrights. In Tuesday's ruling, Judge Charles Legge dismissed seven of Sony's nine claims against Connectix. The two remaining claims involve charges of trade secret violations and unfair competition. The judge has established a 90-day schedule for reviewing the remaining claims.

Connectix, in a press release, held out the possibility that the two remaining charges will also be dismissed.

"Once again, the court has found that both copyright and trademark law favour broad consumer choice," said Connectix CEO Roy McDonald in the prepared statement. "We are confident that we will prevail on the remaining issues. We hope that this decisive outcome will allow both parties to quickly close this matter and find ways to mutually benefit from our innovative cross-platform technology."

Sony filed a separate action in February alleging that VGS violates its patents. Connectix said that a hearing on its motion to dismiss the patent claims will be held May 19.

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