YNOT – Things have gotten a little touchy for the developers and marketers of the RealSex net-connected sex toy. Hassex Inc. and New Frontier Technologies are suing Internet Services LLC and WMM Holdings, alleging the device violates a 2002 patent for a “Method and Device for Interactive Virtual Control of Sexual Aids Using Digital Computer Networks.”
Hassex, a Missouri corporation, says it owns the patent, which it licensed to Colorado-based New Frontier in 2008. According to the complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court in Nevada, WMM Holdings, Internet Services and AEBN share an address in Charlotte, NC. AEBN has sold RealTouch since it introduced the product in January 2009 at AVN’s Adult Entertainment Expo.
According to the complaint, the development and sale of RealTouch “demonstrates a deliberate and conscious decision to infringe the patent or, at the very least, a reckless disregard of plaintiff’s patent rights.”
Although no specific dollar amount is noted in court documents, Hassex and New Frontier seek treble damages plus remittance of all revenues the defendants have realized from RealTouch and associated products and services. The plaintiffs also seek an injunction barring the defendants from manufacturing, using or selling the product or any similar products in the future.
