Court Dismisses All Sony Copyright and Trademark Claims in Connectix Case
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 16, 2000 – A San Francisco Federal Court today
dismissed all Sony copyright and trademark claims against Connectix
Corporation for its Connectix Virtual Game Station software. The decision
resolves seven of Sony’s nine claims in favor of Connectix, eliminating the
need to bring these to trial.
The Honorable Charles Legge issued his summary judgment from the bench and
established a 90-day schedule for the two remaining claims, trade secret
and unfair competition, to be reviewed. During this period Sony and
Connectix may provide the court additional evidence and arguments to
determine whether these claims will also be subject to summary judgment.
The prior June 12 trial date was vacated and a later date will be
established if necessary.
“Once again, the court has found that both copyright and trademark law
favor broad consumer choice. 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,” said Roy McDonald, President and
CEO of Connectix Corporation.
Connectix Virtual Game Station is the award-winning software that enables
many popular PlayStation games to run on Pentium II or III PCs and G3 or
G4 Macintosh computers including iBook and iMac. Detailed product
information is available at www.connectix.com.
Connectix Virtual Game Station won MacWorld’s coveted “Best of Show” award
when it was released at MacWorld Expo in early January 1999. Days later,
Sony brought suit to suspend sale of the product claiming copyright
infringement and tarnishment of the PlayStation name and other marks. Sony
later amended these claims to add trade secret and unfair competition
claims. Today’s decision is part of the process of final resolution of the
original and amended nine claims brought by Sony, of which seven have now
been dismissed and two are being evaluated for possible dismissal.
In February 2000, Sony filed a separate set of claims against Connectix
alleging patent infringement in Connectix Virtual Game Station. Connectix
has also moved for dismissal of all the patent claims and a hearing on that
motion is presently scheduled for May 19, 2000.
Connectix is represented by William Sloan Coats and Vickie L. Feeman of
Howrey Simon Arnold & White in Menlo Park, California.
Connectix Corporation Founded in 1988 and based in San Mateo, California.
Connectix Corporation is a leading developer and publisher of
cross-platform technology solutions. The company’s flagship products
include Connectix Virtual PC for Microsoft Windows, Connectix Virtual PC
for Red Hat Linux, and Connectix Virtual Game Station. For press
information, contact Roy McDonald at Connectix at 650.571.5100 or
800.950.5880