Former Sony employee 58-year-old Hidehiro Kume invented a small optical pickup that is used to read and write discs in the PlayStation 2 and the original PlayStation. He didnât feel Sony recognized his contributions, so he took it to court.
A lower Japanese court rejected Kumeâs claim he deserved compensation, but the Japanese high court ruled that Sony must pay Kume „5.1 million (roughly US$60,000) as a reward for his invention.
Kume was seeking „100 million.
âI thank the court for identifying some of my contributions to the company,â Kume said after the ruling. âBut the company should have appreciated my contributions when I was an employee.â
Sony is currently examining the courtâs decision to decide how it will proceed.
High court orders Sony to pay ex-employee 5.1 mil. yen for invention [iStock Analyst]
