Nintendo Co has won a preliminary ruling that it did not infringe two patents owned by a tiny company called Motiva LLC in making its popular Wii, according to an initial ruling issued on Wednesday.

A judge at the International Trade Commission said that Nintendo did not infringe two Motiva patents in making the Wii video game. That preliminary decision will be reviewed by the commission and can be accepted or changed. The final decision is due in March.

Motiva LLC had claimed that the Nintendo Wii infringed their patent for systems to track a user's position and body movement. Nintendo denied the assertion.

Nintendo has a long history of developing innovative products while respecting the intellectual property rights of others, said Nintendo General Counsel Rick Flamm in an email statement. Nintendo is confident that, if the full International Trade Commission reviews the decision, it will reach the same outcome.

Motiva did not immediately respond to an email request for comment or attempts to reach it through its lawyer.

The case at the ITC is No. 337-743. It is Motiva, LLC v. Nintendo Co, Ltd.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Bernard Orr)

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