The Intellectual Property High Court on Thursday ordered Sony Corp. to pay a former employee about ¥5.1 million for inventing a technology used in the PlayStation, reversing a lower court ruling that rejected his demand.
Hidehiro Kume, 58, wanted ¥100 million for his invention of a small optical pickup used to play and record data on optical discs for the popular game consoles sold through 2003.
"I thank the court for identifying some of my contributions to the company," Kume told a news conference after the ruling. "But the company should have appreciated my contributions when I was an employee."
A Sony public relations official said the ruling was regrettable and the company will scrutinize it before deciding what to do.