Intellectual Property Law

Worlds.com launches Virtual World Patent Suit

Economic hardtimes foster wrangling. In a wrinkle uniquely "new millenium, ensuring a distinction of the current downturn as compared with earlier troughs, litigators wrangle realtime over virtual gaming worlds. Virtual worlds developer Worlds.com (provider of custom virtual environments for corporations) has sued NCSoft, the Korean maker of virtual worlds such as Lineage, City of Heroes and Guild Wars.
Check out System and Method for enabling users to interact in a Virtual Space
Spokepersons for plaintiff assert the patent is "robust" and the list of target defendants is long. But it took 7 (long) years of prosecution, and is purportedly a continuation of an application filed in 1995. Twelve years to issuance is not generally a sign of a "robust" patent. What does the file wrapper show, one must wonder. Comments on the internet abound, and long time gamers themselves point to past MMO offerings such as Realm Online (1996), Ultima Online (1997), Lineage (1998), and Everquest (1999) as providing what the patent purports to cover.
Sounds like a great opportunity for NCSoft - and all potential defendants - to organize themselves and get busy rounding up prior art. East Texas jurors may be overly tempted to do their bit for a stimulus package, and understandably eager to find a way, whether or not well-founded, to "hometown" Korea-based NCSoft.
The very short 4 page complaint: Download file

Full post as published by Idea Lawyer Blog on February 24, 2009 (boomark / email).