Nintendo has been on a hot streak with their latest series of patent litigation -- in their most recently closed case, the House of Mario has managed to invalidate RecogniCorp's trademark for "storing police sketch-artist data."

RecogniCorp, a known Patent Assertion Entity (i.e., "Patent Troll") relies on a business model soley on purchasing patents and then suing others who come anywhere close to using them. RecogniCorp argued in Seattle federal court that Nintendo had violated the patent in the process by which the data is stored.

The presiding judge found that the patent was an improper attempt to monopolize mathematical operations -- a no-no in patent litigation. Because the patent was invalidated as not being proper subject material, there was no need to rule over Nintendo's patent directly.