Nintendo has been known to jealously guard their properties with an iron fist. But, it seems the tables have been turned in the court of law and Nintendo has been found guilty of patent infringement concerning the screen on the 3DS.
Seijiro Tomita of Tomita Technologies filed a patent for a screen that displayed stereoscopic images on a screen without the need for specialized glasses back in 2003. The patent was granted in 2008. Nintendo released the 3DS at the beginning of 2011. Obviously Tomita suspected some infrigment on his patent and filed a lawsuit against Nintendo that same year.
It seems that Nintendo was unable to demonstrate that their technology was developed independent of Tomita's patent. The courts have ruled that Nintendo must pay Tomita $30.2 million in damages.
Even for an international giant like Nintendo, $30.2 million isn't mere pocket change and it's going to take a lot of Mario sequels to earn it all back.