Submitted by: kirkland on Monday December 11th, 2006 at 11:02 AM EST

With all the reports of snapping Wii Remote wrist straps causing broken TVs, Nintendo has been hit with the first lawsuit over its controllers. The surprising thing, however, is that the complaint is not because of a broken TV, but rather patent infringement.

Interlink Electronics is suing Nintendo over the Wii Remote’s trigger button, which Interlink claims to be its own original patented design (patent no. 6,850,221).

On the topic of triggers, the Wii Remote trigger feels and operates in a similar fashion to the Z-trigger found on the Nintendo 64, which was released in North America on September 29, 1996. Interlink filed its patent for its trigger operated electronic device on September 17, 1997. While the three-pronged N64 controller is much differently shaped than a remote, it shows that Nintendo had the trigger design in its labs long before Interlink patented its idea.

» Full story @ Daily Tech