Intellectual Property Law

Case Update: Innovention Toys vs. MGA Entertainment

Posted on March 23, 2011
This lawsuit has seen a lot of action recently. As previously reported, Innovention Toys LLC (?Innovention?) filed suit against MGA Entertainment Inc., and the retailer defendants (collectively ?MGA?), for allegedly infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,264,242, (?the ?242 patent?) entitled "Light Reflecting Board Game...

Creative Kingdoms Aims Wand at Nintendo

Posted on March 22, 2011
Creative Kingdoms, makers of the MagiQuest live-action role-playing game, has filed a complaint at the International Trade Commission (ITC) against Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Nintendo of America, Inc., asking the ITC to prevent Nintendo from importing its Wii gaming system and controller...

Penny Arcade Expo PAX East and other new stuff

Posted on March 09, 2011
Hey everyone, we've been a little behind lately, but good things are in store. The Patent Arcade's own, Ross Dannenberg, will be speaking at Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) East this Friday in Boston, at 1:30 PM. Come on by and listen, ask questions, and generally help stir things up!Also, we have a new research intern starting this summer, and we plan on posting a major update to our video game patent database by the end of the summer...

Pirates attack... oh wait... you mean REAL pirates???

Posted on January 18, 2011
It used to be that headlines like this referred to people pirating music, software, or video games. Kind of funny that this headline once again refers to REAL pirates. Not the kind with swords, but the kind with boats, and guns, and that hijack other boats on the open seas:Pirates Take Up to $12 Billion Worth of Booty...

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Activision Blizzard and Zynga Targeted in New Patent Suit by Walker Digital

Posted on January 06, 2011
Walker Digital, LLC, a self-professed ?invention? company who claims to hold over 500 patents, has filed suit against Activision, Inc., Activision Blizzard, Inc. and Zynga, Inc. In the complaint, Walker Digital alleges that the defendants? games infringe upon U...

9th Circuit Rules in MDY v. Blizzard

Posted on December 15, 2010
A panel of the 9th Circuit on Tuesday upheld a lower court?s 2009 injunction barring the distribution of the Glider computer program that automatically plays the lower levels of World of Warcraft. Read more about it here.

USPTO Patent Dashboard

Posted on October 28, 2010
If you're looking for some good visualization data of the USPTO backlog, pendency times, and other interesting statistics, check out the USPTO Patent Dashboard, it provides some very useful and interesting metrics.

Motiva Opens New Case Against Nintendo in the ITC

Posted on October 05, 2010
As we last reported here, Motiva LLC has previously accused Nintendo Co., Ltd of infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,292,151 (?151 Patent). The ?151 Patent, entitled ?Human Movement Measurement System,? is generally directed to a system for measuring human body movements for exercise and physical rehabilitation, and Motiva alleged that Nintendo?s Wii Fit product was an infringement...

Case Update: Miller v. Facebook (part 2)

Posted on September 27, 2010
Well, it looks like Facebook?s attempt to have its lawsuit with Daniel Miller dismissed has failed again. The diligent reader will remember from our previous post that Miller brought a claim against Facebook alleging that the social website was in violation of copyright infringement by allowing the game ChainRX to be posted on its site...

Case Update: Konami v. Harmonix

Posted on September 17, 2010
In the beginning of June, Patent Arcade reported that Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. and Viacom Inc. were close to settlement in the Harmonix v. Konami case (one of two Harmonix/Konami cases). At that time, it was unclear whether the progress toward settlement in the Harmonix v...

How About If We Go With ?Vulcan Mind? Instead?

Posted on August 23, 2010
Lucasfilm Ltd (Lucasfilm) has sensed a disturbance. They filed suit last week against ?Jedi Mind, Inc.? (Jedi Mind) accusing the Nevada company of infringing Lucasfilm?s rights in the ?Jedi? trademark (among other things). According to the complaint, Jedi Mind markets and sells a line of games and software that are controlled by users? thoughts...

Gamer Sue for Addiction

Posted on August 20, 2010
I am not sure how this case missed our radar, but here goes...As reported at Wired.com:---A federal judge is allowing a negligence lawsuit to proceed against the publisher of the online virtual-world game Lineage II, amid allegations that a Hawaii man became so addicted he is ?unable to function independently in usual daily activities such as getting up, getting dressed, bathing or communicating with family and friends...

Patent/Trademark Search iPhone App

Posted on August 10, 2010
Banner & Witcoff?s IP LawyerTM is an iPhone application providing iPhone-customized full search access to patents* and trademarks issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office as well as corresponding assignments. Banner & Witcoff?s IP LawyerTM also provides a comprehensive library with up-to-date Patent Local Rules for district courts throughout the country, the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Federal Rules of Evidence, the Manual Patent Examination and Procedure, the U...

Case Update: Miller v. Facebook

Posted on July 29, 2010
Miller v. Facebook Inc. et. al.N.D.Cal., Case no. 10-cv-00264Facebook?s attempts to end a lawsuit with Daniel Miller before trial has again apparently failed. On July 23, 2010, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California denied Facebook?s second motion to dismiss and vacating hearing proceedings...

Case Analysis: Sega v. Connectix

Posted on July 26, 2010
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. v. Connectix Corp.203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000) I. Background Connectix Corporation created and sold a software program called ?Virtual Game Station? (VGS), an emulator of the Sony PlayStation, which allowed users to play PlayStation games on their computers...

Case Update: Worlds.com Reopened???

Posted on July 23, 2010
In an interesting turn of events, on July 22, 2010, Worlds.com requested that the court reopen its case against NCSoft. The dismissal of the case on April 23, 2010, was conditional on settlement, and the court explicitly stated:IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this action is dismissed with prejudice; provided,however, that if any party hereto shall certify to this Court, with a proof of service of a copy on opposing counsel, within 90 days from the date hereof, that the agreed consideration for the settlement has not been delivered over, this Order shall stand vacated, and the action shall be restored to the calendar to be set for trial...

Pikachu: "I Sue You!"

Posted on July 20, 2010
Pikachu may be cute, but he?s got teeth. The Pokémon Company Int?l. Inc. (?Pokémon?) filed suit last Friday against Beckett Media LLC (?Beckett?), accusing Beckett of copyright infringement. Specifically, Pokémon alleges that Beckett?s monthly publication of the ?Beckett Pokémon Unofficial Collector!? magazine unlawfully reproduces copyrighted images of Pokémon?s cards without Pokémon?s (or Pikachu?s) consent...

Case Analysis: Sony v. Filipiak

Posted on July 19, 2010
Sony Computer Entm't America, Inc. v. Steven Filipiak, et al. 406 F. Supp. 2d 1068 (N.D. Cal. 2005)In this case decided in 2005, Sony received over $6 million in a copyright infringement judgment against a small online retailer who violated the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U...

Case Analysis: Sega v. Fox

Posted on July 12, 2010
Sega of America v. Fox Interactive et al. N.D. Cal., Filed Dec. 4, 2003, Settled in 2004In December of 2003, Sega brought a lawsuit against video game publishers Fox Interactive (now part of Vivendi Universal) and Electronic Arts and developer Radical Entertainment for allegedly using technology from Sega?s U...

Extra Life: Evolution

Posted on June 30, 2010
A pretty funny comic from Scott Johnson at Extra Life:

Article: Bilski's Potential Impact on the Gambling Industry

Posted on June 29, 2010
Further to the previous post on the Supreme Court?s decision in Bilski v. Kappos, here is a link to an article discussing potential impacts of the decision on the gambling industry. The article quotes Shawn Gorman and Charles Miller of Banner & Witcoff, LTD?s Chicago Office...

Case Analysis: Minsky v. Linden Research, Inc.

Posted on June 28, 2010
Minsky v. Linden Research, Inc. United States District Court for N.D.N.Y. Case No. 1:08-cv-819-LEK-DRH, Settled January 22, 2009In July 2008, Richard Minsky filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against Linden Research and an avatar in Linden?s virtual world Second Life raising issues of virtual intellectual property rights...

Case: Bilski v. Kappos (at last!)

Posted on June 28, 2010
In its long awaited decision, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in the Bilski case. The Supreme Court affirmed the Federal Circuit's decision, but on different grounds, holding that Mr. Bilski's invention, a method of hedging investment risk, is unpatentable because he is trying to patent an "abstract idea...

Case Analysis: Debonneville v. Pierce

Posted on June 21, 2010
Debonneville v. Pierce United States District Court for C.D. Cal. Case No. 2:07-CV-03776-R-MAN), Settled May 5, 2008This wasn?t an IP lawsuit, but it was a bitter dispute between the owners of Internet Gaming Entertainment. IGE is a virtual property company that engages in buying and selling virtual currency and items in MMO games for real money...

CASE UPDATE: Eros LLC v. Linden Research, Inc.

Posted on June 21, 2010
Eros, LLC et. al. v. Linden Research, Inc. Case No. 09-cv-04269-PJH (N.D. California)As many of you know, and as was discussed in our previous post, Linden Labs runs and operates the internet-based interactive computer simulation Second Life which allows participants to see, hear, use, and modify the simulated objects in the computer-generated environment...

Case: The Magnavox Co., et al. v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al.

Posted on June 14, 2010
The Magnavox Co., et al. v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, et al.201 U.S.P.Q. 25 (N.D. Ill. 1977)For those of you who love home video games as much as we do, the following lawsuit will be of interest.The case concerns the Magnavox Company (makers of the Odyssey) who released a ping-pong style game you may have heard of: Pong...

Curtain Call on Gibson v. Harmonix

Posted on June 14, 2010
It seems that Gibson?s efforts to enforce its musical concert participation patent (U.S. Patent No. 5,990,405) have officially ended. Previously we told you that Gibson?s Tennessee case against Harmonix (and its "Rock Band" game) was on its way back on track after being on hold for a while...

Case Update: No Doubt v. Activision

Posted on June 10, 2010
In a previous post, we brought you the case where the rock group No Doubt sued video game giant Activision after the game Band Hero was released in November 2009. No Doubt argued that its contract with Activision permitted the use of avatars to represent each of the four members of the band in the three playable No Doubt songs in Band Hero, but that Activision had made it possible for the avatars to be ?unlocked? and used in conjunction with several dozen other songs featured in the game...

Law360 Article: Virtual-World Conflicts Lead To Real-World Suits

Posted on June 09, 2010
There's an interesting article on Law360 today:Virtual-World Conflicts Lead To Real-World Suits.Here's an excerpt from the article:Law360, New York (June 08, 2010) -- As the market for online games expands and the debate over who has the right to control the virtual content heats up, website operators, their users and third parties could find themselves locked in real-world legal battles...

Case: Red Baron-Franklin Park, Inc. v. Taito Corp.

Posted on June 07, 2010
Red-Baron-Franklin Park, Inc. v. Taito Corp.883 F.2d 275 (4th Cir. 1989).I. BackgroundSome of you may remember twin martial artists Billy Lee or Jimmy (who also went by Hammer and Spike). For those not familiar with the duo, they can be found in the 1987 beat ?em up game ?Double Dragon...

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