Intellectual Property Law

Checkmate for Innovention?

Posted on October 22, 2009
Innovention Toys LLC (?Innovention?) previously filed suit against MGA Entertainment Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys R Us Inc. for allegedly infringing U.S. Patent No. 7,264,242, (?the ?242 patent?) entitled "Light Reflecting Board Game." As summarized by Judge Martin Feldman in his recent order, the ?242 patent is directed towards a ?chess-like board game in which opposing players shoot a laser beam at mirrored game pieces in order to reflect the beam in an attempt to strike (and thus eliminate from the game) an opponent's key playing piece...

Back on Stage in the Guitar Hero/Gibson Suit?

Posted on October 20, 2009
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., along with a host of game retailers, is asking a court in Tennessee to resume proceedings in a patent suit brought by Gibson Guitar Corporation over the "Guitar Hero" line of video games.The suit was filed by Gibson in 2008, and alleged that the Guitar Hero games infringed U...

Copyright in Screen Shots - Sony v. Bleem (9th Cir. 2000)

Posted on October 10, 2009
Sony Computer Entertainment America v. Bleem, LLC214 F.3d 1022 (9th Cir. 2000)BackgroundBleem marketed a software emulator that allowed users to play Sony Playstation games on their personal computers. Bleem's emulator appealed both to gamers who did not want to buy a Playstation console and to those who sought the enhanced graphics and higher resolution offered by PC graphics cards...

Article: The great free beer debate...

Posted on October 09, 2009
A colleague from across the pond, David Musker of RGC Jenkins, forwarded to me an interesting (and humorous) article that he wrote back in 2007. It's a funny tongue-in-cheek perspective on the technical effect test used in Europe with respect to patentability of business method and software patents...

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Dillinger, L.L.C. Seeks Offer They Won?t Refuse

Posted on October 05, 2009
Dillinger, L.L.C., a company that claims to own the rights of publicity and trademark to the names and nicknames of the late Depression Era bandit, John Dillinger, has filed suit against Electronic Arts over its use of the ?Dillinger? name in its ?Godfather? line of video games...

Case Update: Worlds.com v. NCSoft (E.D.Tex., filed Dec. 24, 2008)

Posted on September 25, 2009
This litigation has been transferred to the Northern District of California (San Francisco Division). Specifically, NCSoft filed a motion in the Eastern District of Texas alleging that, other than the marketing and sales of the allegedly infringing video games, neither party had any significant connections with the district...

Case Update: Worlds.com v. NCSoft

Posted on September 16, 2009
Nothing major, but it does look like the case management conference was conducted on Sep. 14, and the claim construction hearing, i.e., Markman hearing, has been set for June 8, 2010:Minute Entry: Initial Case Management Conference held on 9/14/2009 before Hon...

New Case: Eros v. Linden Research

Posted on September 16, 2009
Well, it has finally happened. Someone got so upset that they filed a class action suit against Linden Research, the owner of Second Life. Eros, LLC filed the lawsuit. They are a business in Second Life that caters to the ... ahem... adult community...

Article on Pirate Bay

Posted on August 27, 2009
A colleague of mine, Mikko Manner, recently published an article regarding Pirate Bay in the Entertainment Law Review. The article begins, as you may know:On April 17, 2009, the District Court of Stockholm, Sweden announced its verdict in the so-called ??Pirate Bay case??1 against four individuals associated with a file-sharing website and service called The Pirate Bay, directed at the file-sharing community...

Free passes to Engage Expo!

Posted on August 27, 2009
Just announced this morning, Engage Expo is giving away 200 free expo-only passes.Engage! Expo, taking place September 23-24 at the San Jose Convention Center, provides insight into the best practices, current trends, and effective strategies of social media and user engagement...

PlayCrafter offers free Flash game creation

Posted on August 15, 2009
www.PlayCrafter.comHere's a nice article from Wired.com about it, too.

Wi-Fi Oh No! Bandspeed Sues Sony, Nintendo and Apple

Posted on August 11, 2009
Wi-Fi network company Bandspeed, Inc. has filed a patent infringement suit against Sony Electronics Inc., Nintendo of America, Inc. and Apple, Inc.In the suit, Bandspeed alleges that the Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone 3G all infringe upon two of Bandspeed?s patents...

Zynga files four more lawsuits

Posted on August 07, 2009
Zynga, the social game developer, filed many more lawsuits a couple weeks ago. Just as in the other recent lawsuits that Zynga has initiated over the past few weeks, Zynga is again suing for trademark infringement. Again, Zynga is alleging the defendants are violating its Terms of Service for its Texas Hold ?Em Poker game by using the ZYNGA mark without authorization in order to sell virtual poker chips to be used in its online poker game...

News: New Patent Assigned to Microsoft

Posted on August 07, 2009
Kotaku reports that last week Microsoft was assigned U.S. Patent No. 7,559,834, filed in 2002, for ?Dynamic join/exit of players during play of console-based video game.?This patent claims ?A squad-based shooter video game [that] allows players to dynamically join and leave the game, while that game is in progress, without the players having to save and restart the game...

Appeal Update: Fenner Investments Ltd. v. Microsoft et al.

Posted on August 07, 2009
Fenner Investments Ltd. v. Microsoft et al., the case regarding U.S. Patent No. 6,297,751 for a ?low-voltage joystick port interface,? is being appealed to the Federal Circuit.On July 15, 2009, Fenner Investments filed a notice of appeal in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas...

Case Dismissed: IQ Biometrix v. Perfect World Entertainment

Posted on August 07, 2009
IQ Biometrix, Inc. v. Perfect World Entertainment, Inc. et al.United States District Court for N.D. Illinois, Eastern DivisionCase No.: 1:09-cv-03180, Filed May 27, 2009 We previously wrote about IQ Biometrix bringing suit against Perfect World et al...

New Case: LottoTron v. Morris Mohawk Gaming Group

Posted on August 07, 2009
LottoTron, Inc. v. Morris Mohawk Gaming GroupUnited States District Court for D. N.J.Case No. 2:09-cv-03811-FSH-MAS, Filed July 31, 2009LottoTron is a New Jersey corporation and owner of U.S. Patent No. 5,921,865. Approved in 1999, the ?865 patent is for a ?computerized lottery wagering system...

New Case: Take-Two Interactive v. Apogee Software

Posted on August 06, 2009
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. v. Apogee Software, Ltd.United States District Court for S.D.N.Y.Case No. 1:2009-cv-05054, Filed May 11, 2009 Take-Two is a publisher, developer and distributor of video game software, hardware and accessories for PCs and game consoles including the Grand Theft Auto series...

Ross Dannenberg Speaking at Seattle Penny Arcade Expo Sep. 4

Posted on August 06, 2009
Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) is a three-day game festival for tabletop, videogame, and PC gamers. They call it a festival because in addition to dedicated tournaments and freeplay areas They've got nerdcore concerts, panel discussions, the weekend-long Omegathon event, and an exhibitor hall filled with booths displaying the latest from top game publishers and developers...

Ross Dannenberg Speaking at San Jose Digital Law Conference - Sep. 23-24, 2009

Posted on August 06, 2009
Please join me at Digital Law Conference - http://www.digitallawconference.com/ - Sept. 23-24 in San Jose. The growth of games, social media, virtual goods and virtual worlds has raised legal issues with no clear precedent. Digital Law Conference provides a detailed examination of the legal issues raised by these technologies and offers key insight into where the industry is headed and what the associated legal implications are...

Thank you to Jackie Unger!

Posted on August 06, 2009
Hey everyone, we just wanted to take a moment and give a big THANK YOU to rising 2L GWU law student Jackie Unger, who has been helping out over the summer. All those posts by "Patent Arcade Staff", well, that's Jackie. She's done a tremendous job and, I dare say, learned a thing or two in the process! I think we've even converted her as a gamer, because I loaned her an Xbox360 and haven't seen it since...

Case Settled: Yahoo v. NFL Players Association

Posted on July 28, 2009
Yahoo! Inc. v. Nat'l Football League Players Association, Inc. et al.United States District Court for D. Minn.Case No.: 0:09-cv-01272-PJS-FLN, Filed June 1, 2009On July 7, 2009, Yahoo?s lawsuit against the NFL Players Association was dismissed without prejudice after the two parties entered a settlement...

Video game index updated

Posted on July 17, 2009
For those reading or who have a static link to our index page, we have updated the video game lawsuit index, and it is much more comprehensive and user friendly now. Be sure to check it out by clicking on the "Lawsuits" link from our home page!

VIDEO GAME LAWSUITS

Posted on July 17, 2009
To assist you in your research and review of the cases, this post will serve as a continuously updated index of the cases we're tracking, and provides a chronological listing of video game & related lawsuits broken down into the categories of patent, trademark and copyright with a few miscellaneous cases at the end...

Case Analysis: Hernandez v. IGE

Posted on July 09, 2009
Hernandez v. Internet Gaming Entertainment, LTD.United States District Court for S.D. Fla.Case No. 1:07-CIV-21403-JIC, Filed May 31, 2007, Settled August 26, 2008Much like Blizzard v. In Game Dollar, this case was about virtual property transfer in the MMORPG World of Warcraft (WoW) for real-world money...

Patent Arcade Relaunch!

Posted on July 08, 2009
Well everyone, after four years and hundreds of posts on case updates, legal commentary, gaming news, virtual world IP, and video game patents, The Patent Arcade is proud to relaunch with our new, updated look, and a more user-friendly interface. If you're an RSS reader, please stop by www...

Zynga Files Two New Cases

Posted on July 08, 2009
Zynga, the social game developer, filed two more lawsuits last week, both practically identical to Zynga v. John Does 1-50.On Wednesday, July 1 the company brought suit against Phillip Labrasca for infringement of its trademark ZYNGA and violation of its Terms of Service for its Texas Hold ?Em Poker game...

Case Update: Hochstein v. Microsoft

Posted on July 01, 2009
Hochstein et al. v. Microsoft et al.United States District Court for E.D. Mich.Case No. 04-cv-73071, Filed August 11, 2004On June 22, 2009, the day before trial began, the judge in this patent infringement case made a key decision by opting to use the special master?s construction of a disputed claim...

New Case: Zynga v. John Does 1-50

Posted on June 30, 2009
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-50United States District Court for N.D. Cal.Case No. 3:09-cv-02744-BZ, Filed June 19, 2009Zynga, the popular online social gaming company, has filed yet another lawsuit. Much like its suit against John Does 1-5, Zynga is again going after website operators infringing on its ZYNGA trademark...

News: Midway bankruptcy dispute...

Posted on June 29, 2009
From Law360:An entertainment licensing company has begun legal combat with bankrupt video game producer Midway Games Inc. over the licenses for movies, television shows, live action productions and other properties based on the blockbuster game "Mortal Kombat...

New Case: Zynga Game Network v. Playdom

Posted on June 26, 2009
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. Playdom, Inc.United States District Court for N.D. Cal.Case No. 3:09-cv-02748-EMC, Filed June 19, 2009We recently wrote about Zynga, the developer of online social games, bringing a claim in the beginning of June against John Does 1-5 because of the defendants? use of a domain name that allegedly infringed on Zynga?s trademark...

Case Analysis: Blizzard Entertainment v. In Game Dollar

Posted on June 26, 2009
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. v. In Game Dollar, LLCUnited States District Court for C.D. Cal.Case No. SACV07-0589-JVS, Filed May 22, 2007, Settled January 28, 2008 On May 22, 2007, Blizzard Entertainment, the creator and operator of the popular MMORPG World of Warcraft, brought suit against In Game Dollar (IGD)...

New Case: Nintendo v. Chan

Posted on June 24, 2009
Nintendo of America v. Daniel Man Tik ChanUnited States District Court for C.D. Cal.Case No. 2:09-cv-04203-JFW-PLA, Filed June 12, 2009Nintendo of America (NOA) has filed suit against Daniel Man Tik Chan and Inspire Electronics for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and unfair competition...

Case Analysis: Sitrick v. DreamWorks

Posted on June 23, 2009
Sitrick v. DreamWorks, LLC et al.516 F.3d 993 (Fed. Cir. 2008)This case, decided February 1, 2008, emphasizes the importance of enablement in determining the validity of patent claims, specifically when a patent owner is advocating a broad claim construction...

New Case: Rubin v. Apple Inc.

Posted on June 18, 2009
Don Rubin v. Apple Inc.United States District Court for N.D. Cal.Case No. 3:09-cv-02607, Filed June 9, 2009A puzzle inventor has filed suit against Apple for allegedly using one of his puzzles as the basis for an iPhone application without authorization...

New Case: Prime Table Games v. Nat?l Table Games

Posted on June 16, 2009
Prime Table Games, LLC v. National Table Games Corp.United States District Court for S.D. Miss.Case No. 3:09-cv-346HTW-LRA, Filed June 11, 2009Prime Table Games is the creator and marketer of gambling games that are generally intended for use in casinos but can also be played in other formats such as video and remote games...

Case Update: Fenner Investments v. Microsoft

Posted on June 16, 2009
Fenner Investments, Ltd. v. Microsoft et al.United States District Court for E.D. Tex.Filed 1/5/07, Decided 3/16/09 (Opinion issued 6/3/09)BackgroundThis case revolved around Fenner Investment?s U.S. Patent No. 6,297,751, which describes a low-voltage joystick port interface...

Test posting via SMS message.

Posted on June 10, 2009
Test posting via SMS message.

CASE UPDATE: Zynga v. John Does 1-5

Posted on June 09, 2009
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-5United States District Court for N.D. Cal.Case No.: 3:09-cv-02441-CRB, Filed 6/2/09 After getting our hands on the complaint for this case, we can update our previous entry concerning a suit brought by Zynga, a successful online social gaming company with over 75 million registered users...

New Case: Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-5

Posted on June 04, 2009
Zynga Game Network, Inc. v. John Does 1-5United States District Court for N.D. Cal.Case No.: 3:09-cv-02441-CRB, Filed 6/2/09Zynga Game Network, whose settlement with CLZ Concepts we just commented on, hasn?t wasted any time in jumping into another lawsuit...

Case Update: Fenner Investments v. Microsoft et al.

Posted on June 04, 2009
Fenner Investments Ltd. v. Microsoft et al. United States District Court for E.D. Tex.Filed 1/5/07As you may recall this case consisted of a claim by Fenner that defendants had infringed on its U.S. Patent No. 6,297,751 for a low voltage joystick port interface...

Case Settled: Zynga v. CLZ Concepts (Filed 2/27/09, N.D. Cal.)

Posted on June 04, 2009
Zynga Game Network had filed suit on February 27, 2009 against CLZ Concepts, Jeff Chen and James Zhang asserting copyright infringement. Yesterday a settlement conference was held, and the parties appear to have settled out of court. So it looks like no new case law will come from this one, and we will no longer be tracking this case...

Conan the Mushroom King

Posted on June 04, 2009
CONAN THE MUSHROOM KINGSo we've noticed some buzz on the Internet lately about the backdrop to Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show set. The guys at Serious Lunch posted the backdrop, and what appears to be a doctored version of the backdrop, adding in various elements from the Mushroom Kingdom from Mario Bros...

News: Worlds.com patent invalid???

Posted on June 03, 2009
Article One Partners is a company that offers rewards to people for finding prior art that can be used to try to invalidate patents, and Article One is willing to pay serious money to those who find that prior art. Most recently, Article One Partners paid out $50,000 to an anonymous individual for identifying prior art that, Article One Partners believes, invalidates at least one of the two Worlds...

New Case: Yahoo! Inc. v. National Football League Players Association, Inc. et al.

Posted on June 03, 2009
Yahoo! Inc. v. Nat'l Football League Players Association, Inc. et al.United States District Court for D. Minn.Case No.: 0:09-cv-01272-PJS-FLN, Filed June 1, 2009 Continuing the trend of fantasy sports litigation, Yahoo! Inc., has filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory judgment against the defendants National Football League Players Association, Inc...

New Case: IQ Biometrix, Inc. v. Perfect World Entertainment, Inc. et al.

Posted on June 02, 2009
IQ Biometrix, Inc. v. Perfect World Entertainment, Inc. et al.United States District Court for N.D. Illinois, Eastern DivisionCase No.: 1:09-cv-03180, Filed May 27, 2009IQ Biometrix, Inc. on May 27, 2009, filed a new lawsuit against Perfect World Entertainment, Inc...

Supreme Court grants Cert in Bilski appeal

Posted on June 01, 2009
Today the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in the case Bilski v. Doll. As many readers may know, the case In re Bilski is the case in which the Federal Circuit court of appeals held that business methods are not patentable unless: 1) they transform matter into a different state or thing, or 2) they are tied to particular machine...

Vote for the Patent Arcade!

Posted on May 27, 2009
Vote here for The Patent Arcade as your favorite blog! The survey is NOT being run by me, FYI.Thanks,-Ross

News: First software patent issued!

Posted on May 26, 2009
On this day in history, as reported by Wired.com, on May 26, 1981, the USPTO granted the first pure software patent, U.S. Patent No. 4,270,182, to Satya Pal Asija. Video games are computer software, so the '182 patent really was a groundbreaker for the industry...

Sony/Immersion: The Plot Thickens

Posted on May 18, 2009
The dust has long settled on the Sony/Immersion haptic feedback suit, right?Not quite. According to a complaint filed in Thorner v. Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., Case No. 09-01894 (NJ filed April 21, 2009), and amended recently, a witness from that case claims he was tricked into cooperating and signing away his own patent rights for a fraction of their worth...

CASE UPDATE: Paltalk v. Microsoft

Posted on May 13, 2009
Online chat company Paltalk Holdings, Inc. and Microsoft Corporation have formally dismissed the patent suit between them in the Eastern District of Texas.In the suit, Paltalk alleged that the chat and communication features in Microsoft's XBox Live service infringed Paltalk's patents 5,822,523 and 6,226,686, both entitled "Server-group Messaging System for Interactive Applications," and sought tens of millions of dollars in damages...

News: bits and, well, more bits...

Posted on May 11, 2009
Two items of note, one of which is in two parts:1) Square Enix reportedly kills Chrono Trigger fan project based on alleged copyright infringement.2) Duke Nukem Forever news...2.1) 3 minutes of Duke Nukem Forever footage released, but...2.2) It appears that the 3 minutes is all we'll ever see, because 3D Realms has reportedly shut down!Bummer.

New Case: Keller v. Electronic Arts [Publicity]

Posted on May 07, 2009
Samuel Michael Keller v. Electronic Arts inc. et al.case number 09-cv-1967U.S. District Court for the Northern District of CaliforniaFrom Law360:Law360, New York (May 06, 2009) -- A former quarterback for Arizona State University has filed a putative class action against Electronic Arts Inc...

Case Update: Taser v Linden Research

Posted on May 06, 2009
In an interesting twist, Taser International voluntarily dismissed this case before Linden even answered the complaint. Taser filed a Notice of Voluntary Case Dismissal on May 5, 2009. Because Linden never filed an answer, the dismissal is without prejudice and Taser could choose to refile the case at a later time if desired...

News: Patent Arcade author handles one of the highest profile virtual law cases.

Posted on April 27, 2009
The San Francisco Chronicle ran a nice article today about virtual law, including quotes from yours truly. The high point (at least in MY opinion):But some attorneys set up virtual offices in the world as a kind of advertisement. Intellectual property specialists Banner & Witcoff did just that, and their virtual presence led to their attorney Ross Dannenberg representing one of the highest-profile virtual law cases so far...

Video game trademark dispute brewing over OCTOMOM...

Posted on April 21, 2009
On April 10, 2009, Nadya Suleman, who became famous in January when she gave birth to octuplets, filed a pair of trademark applications at the USPTO. She wants to use the mark for disposable diapers, cloth diapers, dresses, pants, shirts and entertainment in the nature of ongoing television programs in the field of "varity" [sic]...

New Case: Taser v. Linden Research [T]

Posted on April 21, 2009
I'm short on time today, but Bloomberg reported a new lawsuit filed by Taser against Second Life (via its parent Linden Research Inc.). No sense in recreating the wheel, and Virtual World News has already posted a nice intro to the case here. The case is Taser Interntional v...

Case Update: Worlds.com asserts second patent

Posted on April 21, 2009
Sorry for the delay on this, but on March 23, 2009, Worlds Inc. amended its complaint in the lawsuit against NCSoft to assert a second patent. The lawsuit now involves both of the following patents: Patent 7,181,690, Patent 7,493,558. The latter patent's claims do not appear as broad as the earlier patent's claims, which means that it will likely be more difficult to prove infringement, but also makes it generally more difficult to assert that the latter patent is invalid (because there are more elements in each claim that must be shown to be in the prior art)...

CASE SETTLED: Activision v. Gibson [P]

Posted on April 20, 2009
Not surprising in view of the court's claim construction that heavily favored Activision, it appears that Gibson and Activision have settled this case. Judge Pfaelzer of the District Court for the Central District of California, on April 17, 2009, entered an ORDER RE DISMISSAL...

News: Pirate Bay Operators Found Guilty

Posted on April 17, 2009
On a related note...If you haven't already heard, the four men connected to The Pirate Bay, the world's most notorious file sharing site, were convicted by a Swedish court Friday of contributory copyright infringement, and each sentenced to a year in prison...

New Case: Gametech v. Grand Vision Gaming (D. MT) [C]

Posted on April 16, 2009
GAMETECH INTERNATIONAL, INC., v.GRAND VISION GAMING, LLC, TIMOTHY CARSON, and MERLE FRANK, and JOHN DOES 1-10.United States District Court for the District of MontanaGameTech International, Inc. is a supplier of electronic bingo equipment, including hand-held bingo units, fixed-base units and turnkey account and management software...

Case Update: Worlds.com v. NCSoft

Posted on April 15, 2009
You may recall that Worlds.com sued NCSoft last Christmas Eve in the Eastern District of Texas. In an interesting development, the case has been transferred to the Northern District of California. On April 13, 2009, NCSoft filed an unopposed motion to transfer the case to California, and the judge signed the order on April 14, 2009, to transfer the case on or after May 4, 2009...

New Case: Dream Games v. PC Onsite (9th Cir) [C]

Posted on April 13, 2009
Dream Games of Arizona Inc. v. PC Onsite9th Cir., No. 07-15847, 4/2/2009This is a placeholder post until we can review and provide more info. But in brief...(From BNA): A company that engages in illegal conduct with its copyrighted video bingo game system is nevertheless entitled to statutory damages in an infringement suit, the U...

Banner & Witcoff Secures Pandora Win

Posted on April 09, 2009
For those Pandora fans out there, I am pleased to report that our law firm represents Pandora in this case. If any of the media who track my blog would like to speak to the attorneys who handle this case, let me know and I can put you in touch with them...

New Cases: Wizards of the Coast [C]

Posted on April 09, 2009
If anyone is interested, Wizards of the Coast shot off three new copyright lawsuits against various defendants who uploaded the Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook 2 to various file sharing web sites.Filed: April 6, 2009Court: U.S. Federal Court for the Western District of WashingtonCase 1: Wizards of the Coast LLC v...

Case Update: MOAEC v. Pandora [P] (April 8, 2009)

Posted on April 09, 2009
April 8, 2009, Chicago -- The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin granted summary judgment for Banner & Witcoff?s client Pandora in a patent infringement suit brought by MOAEC, Inc. Pandora is a well-known, personalized, Internet radio service, available on PCs, home devices and mobile phones...

Game show patents...

Posted on April 08, 2009
So I just ran in to Tom Bergeron in the lobby of my office building, and it got me thinking: how many game shows have patent protection? Game shows are games, which provide function (i.e., usefulness). Games have methods of game play. Ergo, game shows should be patentable, provided they meet the statutory requirements of novelty and nonobviousness (yes, there is also recent law--the Bilski case--that brings into question whether a game show is statutory subject matter, but a decent patent attorney (like me!) can draft claims that meet the Bilski requirements)...

We are now on Twitter!

Posted on April 07, 2009
Hey everyone, PatentArcade.com is now on TWITTER! Yep, you can follow us by following GameLawyer at twitter.com, or by selecting the link on the right of the PatentArcade.com home page.

Triangle Game Conference

Posted on April 06, 2009
We will be attending the Triangle Game Conference in Raleigh, NC, on April 29-30. Please let us know if you will be there and would like to meet. Steve Change from my firm will be speaking at 4pm on April 29 on the panel for "he Law of Gaming: Legal Protections, Perils, Pitfalls for Game Developers...

Case Update: MDY v. Blizzard

Posted on April 06, 2009
The creator of a software bot designed to allow users of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.'s World of Warcraft to continue playing the online role-playing game while away from their computers remains on the hook for a $6.5 million judgment, although Blizzard's request to have MDY Industries LLC pay significantly more in damages was denied...

Bear with me...

Posted on April 02, 2009
...while I play with layout changes... and NO, there will NOT be advertisements on the blog!Thanks,Ross

News/Update: Cloud Gaming

Posted on March 31, 2009
Cloud computing has been a hot topic lately. Just ask Dell, whose application to register the trademark CLOUD COMPUTING was refused because the term is already generic. Amazon, Google, and other service providers also offer cloud computing services...

Can it be true?

Posted on March 26, 2009

Update: ADC v. Microsoft et al.

Posted on March 25, 2009
In a previous post, we reported on the filing of this patent lawsuit regarding pay-for-download software over a computer network, e.g., including games. Well it appears that Sony is out of the lawsuit, and Microsoft & Nintendo remain. The dismissal was voluntary by ADC, as Sony never made an appearance in the lawsuit...

GDC 2009 - Are you here, too?

Posted on March 25, 2009
Shoot me an email if you want to meet for coffee.

THE FAMILY GUY v. JIMINY CRICKET (Copyright Fair Use)

Posted on March 18, 2009
Bourne Co. v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. et al.U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.March 16, 2009Ok, the case isn't REALLY Peter Griffin versus a cricket, but it made you look, right? The case is really Bourne Co. v. 20th Century Fox...

New Case: Tetris Co. v. BioSocia Inc. (S.D.N.Y) [Copyright]

Posted on March 16, 2009
The Tetris Co. on March 12, 2009, filed a new lawsuit against BioSocia Inc. for copyright infringement and unfair competition. The suit is based on BioSocia's game Blockles, which is a "tetris-like clone." A screenshot of Blockles from www.iminlikewithyou...

News: Sheperd Farey/AP Copyright Dispute Images

Posted on March 16, 2009
This isn't exactly video game related, so I won't take up much of your time, but if anyone was looking for a side-by-side comparison of the Shepherd Farey Obama poster next to the photo that AP alleges it infringes, here you go. Farey and AP have fired countersuits against each other to try to resolve whether this is copyright infringement or fair use...

Patent Reform 2009

Posted on March 04, 2009

Ross Dannenberg Speaking at GDC 2009

Posted on March 04, 2009

Case: Zynga v. CLZ Concepts (filed 2/27/09, ND Cal.) [copyright]

Posted on March 03, 2009

CASE SETTLED: Square Enix v. various sword retailers

Posted on February 26, 2009
On February 24, 2009, Square Enix settled another lawsuit. According to its press release, the lawsuit named at least four national wholesalers of unlicensed sword replicas and their principals that have infringed Square Enix's FINAL FANTASY® franchise of videogames and CG-animated film, specifically its copyright and trademark rights in the swords...

New Look/Features for the Patent Arcade

Posted on February 25, 2009
Well I finally got around to upgrading the blog to Google's new beta service, so we've updated the look and feel a little bit, while keeping the overall simple blue header theme. New features include the ability to filter posts by labels, better subscription options, and better integration of useful add-ons such as patent searching...

Test Post - Please Disregard

Posted on February 24, 2009
Just testing some new software. Please disregard.Technorati Profile

Case: Harmonix v. Konami (Mass.)

Posted on February 21, 2009
Harmonix and Viacom jointly filed suit in the District of Massachusetts against Konami for patent infringement. The lawsuit alleges Konami?s ?ROCK REVOLUTION? video game infringes U.S. Pat. No., 7,459,624 entitled "Game controller simulating a musical instrument...

Resource: Free video game course instruction

Posted on February 03, 2009
I don't normally post non-legal content, but this one is a good resource for budding video game designers: 70+ Open Courseware Links for Game Designers and Developers. Most of the resources appear to be links to MITs open course program, or other universities with similar offerings, but this is the first compilation of all such resources that I have seen in one place...

News: Santa Clara Law School Hosts Open House in Second Life

Posted on January 22, 2009
From Leigh Jones, Associate editor at the National Law Journal:--In what is considered the first event of its kind, Santa Clara University School of Law is holding an open house in the virtual world of Second Life on Jan. 22.Visitors to Second Life, an Internet-based universe where real-life users assign themselves as cartoon characters and go to virtual, animated locations, will travel virtually to Santa Clara Island to see the school...

News: Speaking at GDC 2009

Posted on January 16, 2009
I just wanted to take a minute and let everyone know that I will be speaking at GDC 2009 (March 25-27, 2009) this year. I'm not sure which day my presentation will be, but I will be presenting patent lawsuit case studies that are relevant to the video game industry...

News: Guitar Hero/Rock Band for a REAL guitar

Posted on January 09, 2009
You know, I've been waiting for over a year since I first heard about Guitar Rising, a Guitar Hero style video game that you can play with a REAL guitar. It seems to be the holy grail of interactivity--if you win the game, you have ACTUAL SKILLS you can use in real life to play an instrument...

New Case: Worlds.com v. NCSoft (E.D.Tex., filed Dec. 24, 2008)

Posted on January 05, 2009
Merry Christmas, you've been sued. It's not uncommon for plaintiffs to file lawsuits around the holidays in order to "turn the screws" on defendants, and that appears to be the case here. Worlds.com sued NCSoft (maker of City of Heroes, City of Villains, Tabula Rasa) on December 24, 2008, in the Eastern District of Texas over alleged infringement of U...

Case Update: Nintendo v. Nyko SETTLED

Posted on December 18, 2008
As previously reported, a href="http://www.patentarcade.com/2008/06/new-case-nintendo-v-nyko-wd-wash-filed.html"Nintendo sued Nyko/a for design patent infringement and trademark infringement over the Wii's nunchuk controller. On Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2008, the parties filed a STIPULATION for Dismissal of Action by parties, indicating the case has been settled...

In memoriam: A loss to the Virtual World community...

Posted on December 02, 2008
The Patent Arcade is sad to report that we have lost one of our own. Steve Davidson, a friend, colleague, and groundbreaking attorney in the video game and virtual world fields, passed away unexpectedly this morning, December 2, 2008. Steve spent most of his career with Leonard, Street, and Deinard, and recently retired to his own private consulting practice...

Case: Capcom v. MKR (ND Cal. 2008)

Posted on November 24, 2008
Capcom Co., Ltd. et. al. v. The MKR GroupN.D. Cal. 2008(by Shawn Gorman) While relatively short lived, this legal battle provides several insights for both video game producers and their legal teams. At issue was whether Capcom?s ?Dead Rising? video game infringed any copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights of MKR, the owner of the copyrights and trademarks to the 1979 motion picture "George A...

Articles about IP in Virtual Worlds

Posted on November 20, 2008
I recently wrote a series of short articles for LinuxInsider regarding IP issues as they arise in virtual worlds and video games. Each article was necessarily short, so there wasn't room to go into a lot of detail, but it provides some basic IP information regarding patents, copyrights, and trademarks for those that are interested:The Rocky Legal Landscape of Virtual Worlds, Part 1: Trademarks (Nov...

Case: THQ v. Activision - SETTLED

Posted on November 19, 2008
Well, as is often the case, the cost to settle far outweighs the cost to litigate to prove a point. It appears that is true here. As we previously reported, THQ sued Activision over the cover artwork that Activision was going to use for its baja racing game...

News: Trademark Registration for Second Life Avatar

Posted on November 17, 2008
Its not every day that we get to report TRADEMARK news, so this is a refreshing change from the norm. On Nov. 11, 2008, the United States Patent & Trademark Office granted what is believed to be the first trademark registration for a user's avatar as an indication of the source of goods & services...

New Case: Motiva v. Nintendo (patent infringement)

Posted on November 11, 2008
Well, it looks like Nintendo has been sued for patent infringement again. This time by Motiva LLC, for infringement of U.S. Pat. No. 7,292,151, which is directed to a "Human Movement Measurement System." The patent appears to relate to "a system and methods for setup and measuring the position and orientation (pose) of transponders...

Case: ESS v. Rock Star (9th Cir. 2008) [T]

Posted on November 10, 2008
E.S.S. Entertainment 2000 v. Rock Star Video__ F.Supp.2d __ (9th Cir. 2008)(by Shawn Gorman) The (in)famous Grand Theft Auto series, produced by Rock Star Games, has become synonymous with legal entanglement. As noted by the appeals court, the series ?is known for an irreverent and sometimes crass brand of humor, gratuitous violence and sex, and overall seediness...

IP Alert: In re Bilski

Posted on October 30, 2008
Further to the previous post, here is a more comprehensive write-up prepared by Brad Wright, a partner of mine at Banner & Witcoff, Ltd.:Intellectual Property Advisory: Court Limits Patents on Business Methods By Bradley C. Wright On October 30, 2008, the U...

Case: In re Bilski limits patentable subject matter

Posted on October 30, 2008
While not strictly a video game case, the Federal Circuit today (October 30, 2008) released its decision in In re Bilski regarding the limits on patentable subject matter, which could certainly affect patentability of some video game patents. In its decision, the Federal Circuit reaffirms that the proper test for patentability of processes is the "machine or transformation" test as set forth by the United States Supreme Court...

New Case: ADC Technology v. Microsoft, Nintendo, & Sony

Posted on October 30, 2008
ADC Technology on October 27, 2008, filed a new patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony, alleging that each of the Xbox360, Wii, and PlayStation3, respectively, infringe on one or more of 5 different patents owned by ADC. The case was filed in the Western District of Washington, and is captioned ADC Technology, Inc...

New Case: THQ v. Activision Blizzard

Posted on October 26, 2008
On October 23, 2008, THQ filed a new lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for trade dress and copyright infringement regarding Activision's planned release of "SCORE International Baja 1000 The Official Game" in late October 2008. THQ alleges that Activision's game infringes the trade dress and copyrights in THQ's game "Baja Edge of Control," which was released in September 2008 (with package art available since June 2008)...

News: Japanese avatar kills virtual husband after "divorce"

Posted on October 24, 2008
The stories just keep on flowing. Who knew that divorce could lead to a virtual killing, and subsequent arrest for hacking? Read the story here. In short, a 43-year-old Japanese woman killed her online husband's digital persona because she was so angry that his avatar "divorced" her avatar in the online game Maple Story...

News: Dutch court convicts teens for theft of virtual goods

Posted on October 22, 2008
From the AP wire:October 21, 2008. AMSTERDAM, Netherlands - A Dutch court has convicted two youths of theft for stealing virtual items in a computer game and sentenced them to community service.Only a handful of such cases have been heard in the world, and they have reached varying conclusions about the legal status of "virtual goods...

New Case: Willis v. Electronic Arts (D.Nev.)

Posted on September 30, 2008
This is really more of a straight copyright case than a video game case, so we won't be actively following it. However, if anyone is interested, Gerald Willis (composer of the UNLV fight song Win With The Rebels), has sued EA for inclusion of the song in a slew of EA Sports titles...

Case: Aristocrat v. IGT (Fed. Cir. 2008)

Posted on September 24, 2008
Aristocrat v. IGTUnited States Court of Appeals for the Federal CircuitDecided Sep. 22, 2008At this stage, this case is more about an esoteric legal issue, rather than any substantive issue of infringement regarding slot machine games or video games, so I will keep it brief...

FLASH OF GENIUS: Would a patent attorney be a hero or villain in film?

Posted on September 23, 2008
Villian... I suspect.Its not every day that we see a video game embrace an attorney as a central character. Normally the attorneys are the ridicule of the game, but one game did just that: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. Hollywood, on the other hand, embraces the legal profession almost all too often, whether for ridicule, storytelling, murder, suspense, education, or just plain fun...

Case Update: Activision v. Gibson - Claim Construction

Posted on September 18, 2008
As previously reported, Gibson asserts that Activision's Guitar Hero franchise infringes on some Gibson patents. Gibson's patent claims a "musical instrument" that produces an "instrument audio signal." Naturally, in view of Guitar Hero only useing a controller SHAPED like a musical instrument, and only producing inputs based on button presses, construction of these terms is critical to this case...

Case Update: Bally v. IGT (D.Nev.)

Posted on September 12, 2008
In Bally Gaming Inc. v. IGT, case number 3:06-cv-00483, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada, Bally Sued International Game Technology (IGT) for infringement of U.S. Pat. No. 7,100,916. Claim 1 of the '916 patent reads:1. An electromechanical indicator comprising: a rotary body having an axis of rotation and which is provided with a plurality of segments radiating from said axis of rotation, wherein said segments are associated with at least two different indicia; a motor coupled to said rotary body such that said rotary body is adapted for a rotating mode and a stationary mode about said axis of rotation; a pointer associated with said rotary body to point to a predetermined segment of said plurality of segments when said rotary body is in said stationary mode; and a segment detector for detecting a rotary position of each of said plurality of segments whereby said motor rotates said rotary body to point said pointer to said predetermined segment which is determined before said rotary body enters a stationary mode...

Case: Merit v. JVL settles in E.D. Penn.

Posted on September 11, 2008
Merit Industries Inc. v. JVL Corp.case number 03-1618 (E.D. Penn - Settled)Merit Industries and JVL Corp. have settled their ongoing litigation over countertop arcade games. Merit sued JVL back in 2003 for patent infringement of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,717; 5,743,799 and 6,082,887...

News: CBS sues NFL over Fantasy stats...

Posted on September 08, 2008
In a move reminiscent of the CBC v. MLB case over use of baseball players' names and statistics in fantasy football leagues, CBS Interactive sued the NFL Players' Association over the rights to use NFL players' names and statistics without having to pay a license fee...

Case: Frybarger v. IBM (9th Cir. 1987) - Copyright

Posted on September 01, 2008
Frybarger v. Int'l Business Mach. Corp.812 F.2d 525 (9th Cir. 1987)Before the introduction of sprawling virtual environments, ragdoll physics, and parallel GPUs, the video game industry lived in an 8-bit world. As is still the case, the creative content of games was and is limited by the machines of the day...

News: Nintendo sued over Wii.... again.

Posted on August 21, 2008
Nintendo faces another lawsuit over various aspects of its Nintendo Wii video game console. This time from Hillcrest Laboratories, Inc., a Maryland-based startup, that designs, develops and sells an interactive media system called HoME, which uses a combination of graphical, zooming and interface software for TV and motion control technology called Freespace...

Case: Incredible Tech. v. Virtual Tech (7th Cir. 2005)

Posted on August 15, 2008
Incredible Technologies, Inc. v. Virtual Technologies, Inc.400 F.3d 1007 (7th Cir. 2005)If someone familiar with Golden Tee, the ubiquitous pub golf video game, was asked to describe its unique characteristics, he or she would undoubtedly mention the giant trackball that sits in the center of the game board...

Case Update: Anascape v. Nintendo final judgment

Posted on July 25, 2008
In the ongoing dispute between Anascape, Ltd., an invention and license-holding company, against Nintendo of America regarding Nintendo's use of three patents a jury had found the video game company to infringe, the judge on July 23, 2008, granted a permanent injunction in his final decision...

News: Banner & Witcoff Secures Virtual World Win

Posted on July 24, 2008
Banner & Witcoff Secures Favorable Settlement for Client Regarding Intellectual Property and Land Dispute in Second Life (Washington, D.C., July 22, 2008) - Banner & Witcoff Ltd., one of the largest law firms in the United States dedicated solely to the practice of intellectual property law, is pleased to announce they have secured a favorable settlement on behalf of its client regarding a dispute in Second Life regarding ownership of regions of virtual land, and associated intellectual property...

Case: MDY v. Blizzard (D.Az. 2008) [C]

Posted on July 15, 2008
MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., et al. (D. Ariz. 2008)Looks like Blizzard has won round 1 of the WoWGlider/MMOGlider lawsuit, with the District Court ruling that MDY's bot application violates Blizzard's copyrights, and also causes tortious interference with Blizzard's other paying customers...

News: Konami sues Viacom over Rock Band

Posted on July 11, 2008
Konami Digital Entertainment Co. v. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc.No. 6:08-CV-286, (E.D. Tx, Filed July 9, 2008)Summary by Steve Chang, Esq.If you build it, they will come. The tagline from Kevin Costner?s baseball film ?Field of Dreams? seems appropriate to describe patent litigation...

Case: Sega v. Accolade (9th Cir. 1992) - Copyright Fair Use

Posted on July 11, 2008
Sega Enterprises Ltd. v. Accolade Inc.977 F.2d 1510 (9th Cit. 1992)If you owned a Sega Genesis at any time in your life, chances are you will NEVER forget the singsong jingle Sega played every time you started up your system. Who would have thought that the unforgettable sound effect you grew to love (or hate) had a secret agenda? The inclusion of Sega?s logo during the beginning of every game actually started out as part of an anti-piracy measure, and became the flashpoint of an important copyright lawsuit affecting reverse engineering and the gaming industry in 1992...

Case Update: Anascape v. Nintendo

Posted on June 30, 2008
As indicated in a previous post, Anascape Ltd., an invention and license-holding company, sued Microsoft and Nintendo for patent infringement over their controllers for their respective video game console systems. Microsoft settled before trial. Nintendo went to trial and lost...

New Case: Nintendo v. Nyko (W.D. Wash.) Filed June 10, 2008

Posted on June 16, 2008
Nintendo of America Inc. v. Nyko Technologies Inc.Case number 08-cv-907U.S. District Court for the Western District of WashingtonNintendo of America filed a lawsuit on June 10, 2008, against Nyko Technologies, in the Western District of Washington, alleging patent and treademark infringement...

News: Sandra Day O'Connor, Game Designer

Posted on June 05, 2008
So this blog tracks video game IP law updates, but here is a morsel that I just had to comment on: Sandra Day O'Connor (yes, THE Sandra Day O'Connor, i.e., the first woman ever appointed to the United States Supreme Court) is collaborating with Parsons The New School For Design on an online, interactive civic education project for seventh- and eighth-graders, and recently gave a presentation on the topic at the Games for Change conference (hosted at Parsons)...

Case: Anascape Ltd. v. Microsoft et al. (E.D.Tex. 2008) [P]

Posted on May 16, 2008
Back in July 2006, Anascape Ltd. sued Microsoft and Nintendo over various game controller patents, including United States Patent Numbers 5,999,084; 6,102,802; 6,135,886; 6,208,271; 6,222,525; 6,343,991; 6,344,791; 6,347,997; 6,351,205; 6,400,303; 6,563,415; and 6,906,700...

Case: In re Bilski - Federal Circuit oral argument

Posted on May 08, 2008
The status quo is that video game play methods are patentable subject matter, provided the game play methodology is new, useful, and nonobvious. Never before has there been a case with the potential to limit video game patents as with the In re Bilski appeal...

News: Korean Copyright Suit over Advent Rising

Posted on April 15, 2008
I don't normally track foreign video game cases, but perhaps I should. However, it does make one more category of work for me in view of all my regular work and blogging efforts. If only I had some help... In any event, a reader (thanks Tim!) passed this morsel along, and its worth sharing...

News: Disney to shutter Virtual Magic Kingdom

Posted on April 15, 2008
Disney has announced that its Virtual Magic Kingdom will close May 21, 2008,... for good. The VMK is no longer accepting new users, either. Disney's VMK was launched in 2005 as a promotional tool, and turned out to be much more. About 15,000 people per day still log in and, chat, play, and explore in the VMK...

Case: Eros v. Simon (SETTLED 2007) - Second Life

Posted on April 07, 2008
Somehow this well reported case got overlooked here at the Patent Arcade, and that appears to be because I thought I'd already written about it. In any event, it now gets its own post...On October 24, 2007, six content owners in Second Life sued Thomas Simon, aka Rase Kenzo, for infringing their copyrights in various online goods...

News: IBM to host private Second Life regions

Posted on April 03, 2008
IBM said today that it would become the first company to host private regions of the virtual world Second Life on its own computer servers. if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d['rMuhOkLEYpU-']='&U=1270rgt1l%2fN%3drMuhOkLEYpU-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dRMP%2fB%3d-1'; The project is in testing and will go live within several weeks...

Case: Tafas v. Dudas (USPTO rules)

Posted on April 01, 2008
Today the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Tafas' and Smithkline Beecham's Motions for Summary Judgment, effectively holding that the USPTO's proposed 5/25 and 2+1 rules regarding claims and continuation practice are illegal, and therefore null and void...

Visit the Patent Arcade in Second Life

Posted on March 31, 2008
I now have a presence in Second Life, on the PG (i.e., ok for all ages) region of Pumori. My XboxLIVE gamertage is Aviator, so naturally keeping with the theme my SL avatar is Aviator Kidd. Our Second Life Outpost is lakeside in Pumori. Stop by and say hello...

LINKS! LINKS! LINKS!

Posted on March 31, 2008
I've received a number of requests to link to other web sites. I guess that is a good thing, and means people actually read this blog! I don't have room for all of them on the sidebar, so I have created this post to manage links to other sites. If you want to cross-link, let me know, and I will keep this post updated...

News: Second Life creates Brand Center to protect its trademarks

Posted on March 25, 2008
As Second Life matures, they are taking some fairly customary steps, one of which is to take a more proactive role to protect their own intellectual property. In this vein, Linden Labs has created the Second Life Brand Center, which details the proper and improper use of Linden Labs trademarks...

Case Update: MDY v Blizzard - Summary Judgment Motions

Posted on March 24, 2008
Well it looks like this case has not settled yet, and the parties have filed their summary judgment motions. MDY's Motion can be viewed here. Let me know if you have a link for Blizzard's filings.

Case: Eros v. Leatherwood (Settled, March 2008)

Posted on March 15, 2008
Eros, the maker of the Second Life sex bed, sued the avatar Volkov Catteneo for illegally copying and selling unlicensed copies of the sex bed, thereby infringement the intellectual property of Eros. After serving subpoenas on PayPal, Linden Labs, Charter Communications and AT&T, Volkov was determined to be Robert Leatherwood...

Patent: 6,264,560 - USPTO grants re-exam request

Posted on March 14, 2008
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office agreed to re-examine online-gaming patent 6,264,560 after the Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged it on the grounds that the technology covered by the patent had been used extensively before it was issued.The patent is entitled ?Method and system of playing games on a network? and allegedly claims all Internet gaming systems that use tournament-style play, display advertisements and have real-time updates of rankings in multiplayer games...

Case: Activision v. Gibson (C.D.Cal.) PENDING

Posted on March 12, 2008
After receiving a letter accusing them of patent infringement, Activision filed a declaratory judgment action March 12, 2008, against Gibson Guitars, asking the court for finding of invalidity and noninfringement. Gibson is asserting that it has a patent on a musical performance simulation, which Gibson alleges Activision infringes via its popular Guitar Hero games...

Case: Romantics v. Activision (E.D.Mich) - Publicity

Posted on February 27, 2008
The re-performance of a song for use in a video game pursuant to a non-exclusive synchronization license does not, without more, violate the original artists' right of publicity, even if the artists are referenced, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan held Jan...

Article: Hey, that's MY game!

Posted on February 27, 2008
Ever wonder what the basic principles are for protecting your video game based on intellectual property law? Steve and I wrote this article, recently published on Gamasutra, that provides a brief introduction to what you need to know to help protect your game and your brand...

Case: MGA v Ubisoft (Settled)

Posted on February 14, 2008
From IP Law360:MGA Entertainment, makers of the popular Bratz dolls, will hand over $13.2 million to video game company Ubisoft Entertainment, after an arbitrator ruled that Ubisoft had not violated theBratz trademark but MGA had violated a contract between the two companies...

News: Man saves lives playing AMERICA'S ARMY

Posted on January 20, 2008
Ok, "saves lives" may be a bit of an exaggeration, but what is true is that a North Carolina man assisted passengers from an SUV he saw flip on a highway, using skills he learned playing America's Army. Paxton Galvanek, who pulled people from vehicle after it flipped, said he learned about controlling bleeding from playing section two of the "medic" class training in America's Army, a game developed by the Army as a recruitment tool...

The Patent Pal browser toolbar

Posted on January 12, 2008
I came across a great resource for patent practitioners: The Patent Pal. The Patent Pal is a toolbar for your browser that has links to massive amounts of resources that patent practitioners use on a daily basis. Everything from various patent databases, laws, rules, etc...

News: MMOGs on the rise

Posted on January 03, 2008
The trend continues, and MMOGs are getting even more popular. Here are a couple recent articles that you might find of interest:From WIRED, this article discusses three new MMOGs being released in 2008 that have potential to be huge.From the NY Times, this article discusses the popularity of MMOGs among kids.

News: Chinese lawsuit over virtual goods

Posted on January 03, 2008
As reported by Virtually Blind, Shanda, developer of MMORPG The World of Legend, has been ordered to pay 5,000 Yuan (US $679) and apologize to a gamer for taking away his virtual tools, reports Pacific Epoch. The gamer discovered six virtual items worth more than 1,500 Yuan (US $204) missing from his game account on November 22, 2006 (perhaps the Sword of 1,000 Truths), and contacted Shanda regarding the disappearance...

Case Update: Lonestar v. Nintendo (E.D.Tex.)

Posted on December 17, 2007
Lonestar Inventions LP v. Nintendo of America Inc., case no. 6:07-cv-00261 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.This lawsuit between patent-holding company Lonestar Inventions LP and gaming conglomerate Nintendo Inc. will play out in mediation after a federal judge ordered the two companies to try their case before a mediator on Thursday, Dec, 13, 2007...

News: Second Life CTO resigns

Posted on December 13, 2007
Sorry I've been radio silent for a while. Life has been busy, you know how it goes...In any event, it appears that Cory Ondrejka, employee No. 4 at San Francisco-based Linden Lab, which owns Second Life, quit Tuesday and will depart at the end of the year...

Case: CBC v. Major League Baseball

Posted on November 15, 2007
C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., et al. --- F.3d ---, 2007 WL 2990366, 84 U.S.P.Q.2d 1328 (8th Cir. 2007) In a much watched case, on October 16, 2007, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit decided C...

Case: MicroUnity v. SCEA Settles

Posted on November 06, 2007
Word on the street is that MicroUnity and Sony Computer Entertainment America have settled their ongoing patent dispute regarding Sony's PlayStation products. The two companies have asked for a 30-day stay of all deadlines in the pending litigation in the Eastern District of Texas so they can put the finishing touches on their settlement agreement...

News: Second Life IP theft lawsuit

Posted on November 01, 2007
More Second Life news: As reported in the New York Post, a half-dozen entrepreneurs are suing a Queens man, charging him with counterfeiting and selling versions of their products. Here's the catch: The products aren't real, and the alleged crimes took place in the virtual world of Second Life on the Web...

News: Change in Second Life ownership policy???

Posted on October 29, 2007
As originally reported on Terra Nova, Linden Labs appears to have made a potentially significant change to the wording on its home page. The home page used to read:?Second Life is a 3D online digital world imagined, created and owned by its residents? But now it reads: ?Second Life is a 3D online digital world imagined and created by its residents?The post on Terra Nova has an interesting string of comments...

News: Potential DMCA fair use relief on the way?

Posted on October 29, 2007
As reported on GamePolitics.com, Later today the ECA will announce its support for HR1201, known as the Fair Use Act of 2007. The proposed legislation will give consumers limited rights to circumvent technological control measures for private, noncommercial uses that would otherwise be protected under the DMCA...

Michigan Law School - First Impressions' Symposium

Posted on October 17, 2007
Well it's not strictly video game IP law, but it certainly applies to video games and explores, in view of KSR, how easy it may or may not be to obtain patent protection for game play methods, so should be worth checking out:The Michigan Law Review?s companion journal First Impressions today published an online symposium on the Supreme Court, the Federal Circuit, and Patent Law...

News: Microsoft spins off Bungie Studios

Posted on October 08, 2007
Well its old news by now, but in case you haven't heard, Microsoft and Bungie announced on Friday that Bungie has split off from Microsoft, becoming an independent entity. Bungie will still work on the Halo franchise for Microsoft, but will be free to develop other IP as well...

Second Life ToS: Leave your patents at home

Posted on September 28, 2007
Ok, I've spent the better part of two evenings finishing the campaign mode in Halo 3, so it's about time to come out of my self-induced Halo 3 fog. A colleague of mine and I were discussing about a month or so ago the fact that Linden Lab's terms of service for Second Life are very prohibitive of patents and patent rights being enforced by SL residents...

Day of rest in honor of Halo 3

Posted on September 24, 2007
Hey everyone, I was on vacation last week, so there were no new posts last week.As for this week, in honor of Halo 3, there will be no post this week either (i.e., I expect to be too busy playing Halo 3 to be able to post this week....)We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week...

Case: Frosty Treats v. Sony [T]

Posted on September 10, 2007
Frosty Treats Inc. v. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. 426 F.3d 1001 (8th Cir. 2005) I scream, You scream, We all scream for Ice Cream! Sony was sued over its use of an ice cream truck and clown character in its Twisted Metal video game series...

Patent: U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,289 (Bingoes)

Posted on September 04, 2007
United States Patent No. 5,482,289Method of Playing a BINGO Game with Progressive Jackpot Issued on January 9, 1996 to Gary Weingardt and assigned to Gary Weingardt Trust. Summary: In case you were bored with the original game, or thought that BINGO was a game for your grandparents? This patent attempts to create a more challenging BINGO game than the traditional by adding two columns and two rows to the BINGO card and adding an additional 72 numbered balls...

Case Update: MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. et al

Posted on August 27, 2007
MDY Industries, LLC v. Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. et al.United States District Court, District of ArizonaCase No. 2:2006cv02555, Filed October 25, 2006 On October 25, 2006, MDY Industries, LLC (?MDY?) filed a declaratory judgment action against Blizzard Entertainment, Inc...

Patent: U.S. Pat. No. 6,992,654 (Character Animation)

Posted on August 20, 2007
United States Patent No. 6,992,654System and Method for Providing User Input to Character Animation Issued on January 31, 2006, to Electronic Arts Inc. Summary: This patent issued to EA, discloses a system and method for providing real-time control over character animation...

Patent: U.S. Pat. No. 5,727,786 (Bingo)

Posted on August 14, 2007
United States Patent No. 5,727,786Bingo Game Method Issued on December 8, 1995 to Inventor Gary Weingardt Summary: This invention attempts to reinvigorate the classic game of Bingo and lure the gamblers away from video poker, slot machines and table games by providing larger bingo jackpots...

News: new Donkey Kong world record

Posted on August 06, 2007
I have a client that I am helping to get into the Guinness Book of World Records. For what? Well that has to wait until the record is published, but suffice it to say that it got me wondering about world records as intellectual property. Ok, I know they're NOT technically IP, but I've always had a fascination with getting world record, so I figure helping someone else do it would be good enough...

News: man gets two years in jail for video game crime.

Posted on August 04, 2007
An Illinois man was sentenced to two years in prison for violating copyright law through the unauthorized sale of video games on his Web site, the U.S. Department of Justice announced late Thursday, August 2, 2007.Timothy W. Hall, of Mount Vernon, Ill...

News: quoted in USA Today re Facebook lawsuit

Posted on July 31, 2007
Well its not a video game lawsuit, but interesting nonetheless. And, yes, this post could be considered shameless self-promotion. Nonetheless, I was recently quoted in USA Today in an article regarding the Facebook lawsuit, and it's even a good sound bite! Usually quotes get taken out of context or they use the quote that you wish you never said (remember the "work hard, play hard" debacle?) In any event, I thought it noteworthy, so enjoy...

Case Update: PPC v. Sony (E.D.Tex, filed 7/26/07)

Posted on July 31, 2007
Parallel Processing Corp. has filed a lawsuit alleging that Sony's PlayStation 3 infringes U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,000, entitled "Synchronized parallel processing with shared memory." Not the sexiest of patents with respect to game console hardware, but given the convergence of game consoles and general purpose computers, it's not surprising...

Patent: U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,954 (Attack Power)

Posted on July 30, 2007
United States Patent No. 6,729,954Battle Method with Attack Power Based on Character Group Density Issued May 4, 2004, assigned to Koei Co., Ltd. Summary: Although the Sam Fishers, John Matrixs, Solid Snakes, and John Rambos of the world would gladly demonstrate how false this premise is, this patent contends a soldier?s attack and defense strength synergizes with the number of surrounding support soldiers...

Is artistic style a new type of Video Game IP?

Posted on July 22, 2007
Courts have held that artists' copyright protection can extend beyond their literal pictorial works, and some courts have even insinuated that an artist can receive copyright expression for their artistic style, e.g., Steinberg v. Columbia Pictures Inc...