Sony filed a voluntary dismissal on its patent case against Connectix Corporation on Thursday, a day before the official hearing. The complaint, filed originally on February 14, alleged that Connectix violated eleven patents on the Sony PlayStation with its Virtual Game Station product. The hearing had been scheduled in front of Judge Legge before Sony withdrew its injunction.

　　"While we recognize that Sony may still attempt to bring some of these claims back before the court at a later date, this represents the third victory in a row for Connectix in this case," said Roy McDonald, president and CEO of Connectix Corporation. "We hope that at some point Sony will recognize the merits of cooperating with us in giving added flexibility to consumers and fans of the PlayStation. It is time for them to withdraw entirely from their course of filing baseless litigation that the courts must dismiss."

　　The withdrawal of the eleven patent claims by Sony today follows on the dismissal of seven of nine claims on May 16 in a second patent infringement suit filed by the company against Connectix. A 90-day schedule was established at that time for the two remaining claims, trade secret and unfair competition, to be reviewed. Judge Legge is also overseeing the proceedings in that second suit.