Immersion sues Microsoft, Sony

Immersion, a San Jose, Calif., company that makes money by licensing its "force-feedback" technology to give joysticks a livelier action, has sued Microsoft and Sony for patent infringement over the technology. Immersion said this week that Sony's PlayStation and Microsoft's Xbox gaming consoles, which use touch feedback, infringe Immersion's patents.

"After extensive attempts to settle this infringement issue through negotiations, we decided to file the suit to enforce our intellectual property rights," said Immersion Chief Executive Bob O'Malley. Logitech, Kensington and BMW are among Immersion's licensees for the force-feedback "haptic" technology, as are several companies that sell games for the Xbox and PlayStation.