Mario Pirchala holds the Wii control as he participate in the Wiimbledon Wii Tennis tournament in June 2008 in Brooklyn, New York. A US firm said Wednesday it had filed legal actions against Japanese-based Nintendo claiming patent infringement by the wildly popular Wii game console.

A US firm said Wednesday it had filed legal actions against Japanese-based Nintendo claiming patent infringement by the wildly popular Wii game console.

Hillcrest Labs, based in Rockville, Maryland, said it filed a complaint for patent infringement with the US International Trade Commission and a separate lawsuit in federal court against Nintendo.

The complaints allege that the Wii improperly uses Hillcrest patents relating to a handheld three-dimensional pointing device and another on a navigation interface display system that graphically organizes content on a television.

"While Hillcrest Labs has a great deal of respect for Nintendo and the Wii, Hillcrest Labs believes that Nintendo is in clear violation of its patents and has taken this action to protect its intellectual property rights," according to a statement.

The US firm said it has 29 patents relating to technology that allows consumers to interact with digital media on television.

"We have not been served with any lawsuit or other action by Hillcrest and therefore have no comment," Nintendo of America spokesperson Charlie Scibetta said in response to an AFP inquiry.

Wii has become the top-selling video game console in the United States, a crown coveted by rivals Microsoft and Sony.

Market-tracking firm NPD Group reports that 666,000 Wii consoles were sold in the United States in June, raising the total sales count in the country to nearly 10.9 million units.

Wii consoles are credited with expanding the video game market beyond "hardcore gamers" with simple motion-sensing controllers and group-oriented games.

© 2008 AFP