New Lawsuit Alleges Valve Ripped Off Patent For Steam Controller Design
Valve was allegedly warned that a smaller company had just patented the same technology the gaming giant used in its Steam controller.
A new lawsuit filed this month in Washington alleges that the video gaming giant Valve Corporation supposedly stole a design feature it implemented in its Steam Controller from a smaller tech company that has connections to the controller manufacturer SCUF.
The lawsuit states Valve was warned in 2014 that a prototype of its Steam Controller, the company's attempt to move PC gaming into a more console-focused experience, used the same rear-sided control paddles Ironburg Inventions patented that year. It goes on to say that SCUF CEO Duncan Ironmonger saw Valve's Steam Controller prototyped at CES in January not long after learning about the patent. (Ironburg is SCUF's IP-holding arm.) Ironmonger warned Valve staff of the alleged infringement at CES 2014 and wrote the company a letter that March saying the patent was Ironburg "creating a new category of controllers."