Nintendo don't own anything. They have a patent for the wiimote itself, including the infra red, motion etc, but not for the individual accelorometer by it self. They don't need it bcoz they own the idea, a remote shaped motion controller that uses motion, ifra red pointer and bluetooth connection.
“When we make some new announcement and if there is no positive initial reaction from the market, I try to think of it as a good sign because that can be interpreted as people reacting to something groundbreaking. ...if the employees were always minding themselves to do whatever the market is requiring at any moment, and if they were always focusing on something we can sell right now for the short term, it would be very limiting. We are trying to think outside the box.” - Satoru Iwata - This is why corporate multinationals will never truly understand, or risk doing, what Nintendo does.
