Valve’s multi-year legal battle against peripheral manufacturer SCUF Gaming may finally be at an end. The patent infringement case went to trial in February. It pitted the gaming giant against the smaller company in what SCUF’s lawyers described as a “David and Goliath” battle.

The jury ultimately returned a verdict in SCUF’s favor, awarding the company $4 million in damages. Valve unsuccessfully attempted to overturn the ruling earlier this week, as The Esports Observer reports.

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The case began in 2017 when SCUF noticed similarities between the since discontinued Steam Controller and a patent held by its subsidiary Ironburg Inventions. The patent in question covered controllers with underside buttons that allowed players to use fingers other than their thumb and pointer. Valve argued the patents only covered elongated, protruding buttons like the design Microsoft licensed for the Xbox Elite Controller. By comparison, the underside buttons on the Steam Controller are flush and meld into the device’s body. Valve’s attorneys also argued that hearing the trial over Zoom opened the door for SCUF to enter misleading images and diagrams into evidence.

The jury awarded SCUF Gaming $4 million after the February trial. The Dota 2 developer moved to have the verdict overturned on the grounds that SCUF Gaming failed to present sufficient evidence during the trial. US District Judge Thomas S. Zilly rejected the motion on Wednesday, noting that Valve’s own lawyer described the case as straightforward. “Defendant’s dissatisfaction does not constitute grounds for judgment as a matter of law or a new trial,” said Zilly during the ruling.

It’s not all bad news for Valve, though. Judge Zilly also ruled against SCUF and Ironburg’s request for increased damages. The companies argued that Valve deliberately violated their patents while designing the Steam controller. If proven, that would entitle SCUF to triple the damages awarded at trial. However, the controller’s lead designer testified that he was unaware of SCUF’s patent until after the design phase. By that point, Valve had already invested heavily in the Steam Controller’s development.

It’s unclear if either company will attempt to appeal the ruling. However, a legal expert interviewed by The Esports Observer found it unlikely. According to the attorney, Darius Gambino, Valve has little reason to continue fighting for ownership of a discontinued design. He also doubted SCUF’s ability to continue fighting for additional damages.

The Steam Controller was part of Valve’s unsuccessful attempt to create a console-like system using the Steam distribution platform. The company sold around 1.6 million Steam Controllers before discontinuing the product in 2019. However, Valve has not entirely given up on the idea of a Steam Console. The developer appears to be working on a handheld device called SteamPal.

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Source: The Esports Observer