Worlds.com Sues NCSoft For Infringing Patent Related to Virtual Space Interaction

Worlds.com, suffering in the business world, has filed suit in the Eastern District of Texas claiming that NCSoft, with its myriad virtual platforms, is infringing patent 7,181,690, System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space. The patent relates generally, and I mean generally, to creating a 3D space with Avatars and displaying the relevant information for each player. Importantly, the filing date on this patent is in 2000.

Can Anyone Say Invalidation?

I hate to break it to Worlds, but the patent is written so broadly, that while they may have pulled a fast one on the examiners in the PTO, I highly doubt this patent will survive this litigation. The 2000 filing date leaves plenty of room for prior art in the MMO space to be considered. Ultima Online and Everquest were both up and running at this time. Jeez, even old MUDs kept track of player positions and delivered information based on that position. The claims are also so broad that they do not even narrow to more technologically useful specific cases, such as being used in a 3d world. This case has all of the markings of trollery (though Worlds is not a troll in the conventional sense). It will be interesting to see if NCSoft fights it on principle, or just settles out of convenience.

Hillcrest Labs Sues Nintendo Over Waggle Technology

Oh, Nintendo...sued again....This is time, it is Hillcrest Labs, claiming that the Wii's motion sensing and graphical interface technology infringes on their patents. HL licenses it technology to other peripheral manufacturers, like Logitech, but did not fully disclose its licensing arrangements. As of the time of the story, Nintendo had not been served.

Hey Nintendo! Waggle This!

Once again, patent law is reprimanding the "innovator" for video games. Hillcrest may have valid patents, but it is so suspect how these companies wait years to file suit, after the big N has already made a ton of money. Coincidence? I think not...will the patent thicket ever be trimmed?

East Texas Controller Patent Case Finds for Plaintiff (big surprise), Nintendo Owes $21 Million

Keeping with the sordid history of patent cases in the Eastern District of Texas, Nintendo has lost its patent infringement legal battle with Anascape to the tune of 21 million bucks over patents relating to controller technology. Microsoft was also named, but settled for an undisclosed amount. It is unknown why Sony was not named as well.

Boohoo, Nintendo!

It is amazing to me how the EDT court system just pumps out these infringement cases. How is it possible that plaintiffs can win 70% of the time? I guess everyone is guilty in Texas...

Gibson Expands Guitar Hero Suit to Include Harmonix, MTV, Game Retailers

Gibson, attempting to put pressure on Activision to settle...err, I mean, protecting its intellectual property, has decided to expand its recent Guitar Hero-related patent infringement suit to include Harmonix, MTV Games, and Retailers. Gibson claims that they are just protecting their intellectual property and that their good faith efforts to settle have been rebuffed by the defendants.

Gibson Trolls More!

I do not buy Gibson's reasoning at all. They are trying to force settlement by interfering with Activision's relations with other business partners. Everyone wants a piece of the Guitar Hero pie; Activision even went as far as to say that they thought Gibson was just dissatisfied that Activision was not renewing their licensing contract. Welcome to the world of business!

Activision Takes Gibson to Court Over Guitar Hero Patent

Activision has begun litigation against Gibson to settle whether the Guitar Hero franchise is infringing against Gibson's patent for a "technology used to simulate a musical performance." Activision is seeking a judgment to remove Gibson's claim for licensing fees. It is interesting that Activision and Gibson are already partners, with Gibson supplying the designs for GH's guitars. Activision thought it had its bases covered by purchasing or licensing many patents already before the release of GH III. Oh! It looks like one of Gibson's periscopes is just peeking its head out of the water right now!

Gibson wants a bigger piece!

This case just goes to show how hard it is for a successful video game company to navigate the patent waters - Gibson's U-Boats are all around! Activision seems to be enjoying the flip-side of success - everyone coming out the woodwork saying, "You owe me!"

European Patent Filings Show Possible Wii Adaptations

Recently published patent applications from Nintendo show some pretty *interesting* ideas for Wii accessories. Of note is the Wiimote charger, which would be nice...the rest of the ideas, well, from the pictures they do not look as stunning.

Wiibear? Wiibike? Wiiboard? They all sound cooler than they look...

Before any reader goes too bonkers about how stupid these drawings look, remember that patent drawings are very rough, and may not correspond with the product envisioned exactly. For example, the teddy bear shot could just be an illustration of using the Wiimote with a toy not traditionally affiliated with games (or something like that). Although, the idea of using a teddy bear to control a game sounds...innovative. Yes, innovative...

Microsoft Files Application for Body Monitoring Software

While not directly related to video games (yet), Microsoft has submitted an application to the PTO regarding new software developed to monitor employee performance through such bio-indicators as heart rate, facial expressions, body temperature, movement, and blood pressure. Predictably, privacy groups are concerned that this level of unprecedented intrusion is too much.

MicroMonitorsoft

The application of this technology to video games could lead to all sorts of new gaming experiences. Imagine Eternal Darkness but instead of the fear meter being linked to your character, it is linked directly to you - your racing heart triggers the sound to cut out, or screen to shut off. This type of software can also be used by developers to gauge how effectively the emotions of their game are coming across - is the game exciting, relaxing, or just plain boring. Regardless, the software promises to usher in a new era of interactivity.

Sony, Nintendo Sued For Controller Patent Infringement

Copper Innovations Groups, a PA based group, is suing Sony and Nintendo for their purported infringement of one of its patents, titled, "Hand Held Computer Input Apparatus and Method." The method involves assigning hardware identification numbers to device transmissions in order to connect and organize inputs to a system. Specifically targeted are the Wii Remote, Nunchuk, Sixaxis controller, and the Blu-Ray remote. The company is seeking not only damages, legal fees, and interest, but also a permanent injunction to prevent further profiteering. Microsoft is notably absent.

Copper May Have Struck Gold

I checked out the patent, and it is hard to say if the Wii and PS3 utilize this technology without being able to see more about the hardware in those systems. However, the patent presents a very straightforward way of setting up a plurality of transmitters and providing a framework for the receiver to know which transmitter is sending what using identification numbers; this is an obvious way of tackling this problem, and it would be interesting to see how these companies would not utilize the method described in the patent short of having a specific receiver for each input transmitter, which seems highly inefficient.

To Copper's credit, at least he came up with this patent and isn't being a complete troll like the AVG folks...

Mousechief Secures Patent on Interactive Narrative Operated by Introducing Encounter Events

A tip of the hat to Keith Nemitz, creator of the Witch's Yarn, for successfully navigating the patent world on his own. He was granted a patent for his innovative game mechanic of using nouns instead of actions to advance a story in the game. I think the most interesting part of the article are the comments at the end where the "chorus" is letting Nemitz have it for patenting his idea. Hopefully, the masses will understand that a patent is only as evil as the person holding it; Nemitz claims that he will only use his patent for good...

Mousechevious

I had a chance to read the patent and play the game. The patent makes a big distinction between traditional games, which utilize verb-based interaction, and his present invention that uses nouns. He makes the distinction between old games where you PICK UP the axe and his model where the player selects AXE, and the game does the rest. In the Witch's Yarn, the player is presented with objects that are used to push the story forward, but the player does not know how these objects will affect the world, and the order of object choice determines the gameplay. Theoretically, the noun-based system is more dynamic because the player doesn't know what verb will attach to the noun chosen, i.e., choosing wool now may cause the witch to begin spinning, while later she might give the wool to a customer who was not there before.

Despite his assertion that there is a qualitative difference between the experiences, it seems to me that hiding the verb from the player is all that he is doing. It is well established to have multiple actions for any one in-game object depending on the timing of selection, i.e. sell the helmet at the vendor, pick up the helmet, wear the helmet when you get to the proper level, and his idea of rewinding is also not new (Prince of Persia: Sands of Time). The innovative step seems small to me: it makes me wonder, is any new game play method no matter the proximity to others patentable?

Lone Star, Patent Troll, Stalks Nintendo

Claiming that the Wii utilizes their patent on small capacitors in a semi-conducting circuit, Lone Star, a company based out of an Austin, Texas law firm, is suing Nintendo in the hallowed Federal Eastern District of Texas courts. Known for its ultra-plaintiff friendly patent decisions, the Eastern District has seen many patent infringement cases, including the American Video Graphics lawsuit covered in my first blog entry (second for those who are counting). Nintendo was, of course, unaware of any such infringement. Lone Star has been successful against other industry big wigs like Texas Instrument and Broadcom, but it is unclear how successful they will be here. Looks like another, "this patent is too complicated, and I (Nintendo) would have to give up too many secrets...I'll just settle." --> Trollery at its finest.

Nintendo's Getting Trolled

Patent Hints at Future PSP, Possibly with Phone Capabilities

Often filed patents never turn into anything, but hopefully, that will not be the case for a new patent filed by Sony that appears to disclose a redesign of the PSP. Given the recent partnering of Sony with British Telecom to provide for BT services to the PSP, this new patent application could show where Sony is headed. The patent features a sweet looking swivel screen, hinting at multiple modes of use, i.e., normal view for games, swivel for cellular phone capabilities. In addition, the the new PSP could also support TV and video modes streamed directly from the internet.

PSP Swivel

I was going to buy an iPhone, but...

Microsoft's Patent Application for Portable Gaming System Hints at Zune Gaming

MIcrosoft, invader of all realms technological, just had a patent application, Number 20070087830 for a "multi-component gaming system" including "handheld devices and console devices," approved by the PTO. The patent appears to pertain to technology that would allow processes from one gaming console, i.e. the XBox 360, to be beamed to another portable device, i.e. the Zune, calling it "variable functionality and processing performance as determined by the number of components in the system. The processing capabilities and functionality of each gaming component in a combination are augmented by the processing capabilities and functionality of other gaming components in the combination. To take advantage of another gaming components processing capabilities and memory capacity, each gaming component is capable of utilizing another gaming component to process gaming applications."

Zune Gaming Soon

Of course, Microsoft had no comment. Sounds cool...but will it be?

Sony Plays Down Virtual Reality Glove Patent

Keeping their ear to the streets, Unwired View has discovered that Sony has filed a patent for a virtual reality glove system that is meant to be compatible with some unspecified gaming console. The glove would allow the user to control cursors on the screen and having electronic means of applying pressure to the fingers to simulate touch. Sounds pretty badass to me.

Sony's VR Gloves

Of course, Sony had no real comment about the patent, merely reiterating the policy of protecting their IP to absolute fullest whether a product is manufactured or not. Below is a link to the application itself:

US Patent Application 0070075966: Hand-held Computer Interactive Device

Sony and Immersion Put Suit Behind Them, Form Agreement

Sony and Immersion have finally come to an agreement, putting their much publicized legal battle behind them. Sony was hit with $91,000,000 judgment in favor of Immersion, for their infringement on Immersion's Force Feedback patent involving rumble technology. According to GameDailyBiz, "In Immersion's form 8-K, the company revealed that Sony will pay quarterly installments of $1,875,000 (for a total of $22,500,000) beginning on March 31, 2007 and ending on December 31, 2009; Sony will also pay Immersion certain other fees and royalty amounts. In addition, Immersion has agreed not to sue Sony or enforce the original permanent injunction that was issued back in March 2005." Sony will also pay the $91 million.

Rumble Again Sony, The Suit Finally Settled

Not bad Immersion, not bad.

The Trouble with Patents

Here is a somewhat interesting article by David Sirlin, mostly venting his frustration about the inadequacies of the patent system with respect to electronics. He complains about how obvious many of the non-obvious inventions are, and other general hinderances to innovation in the electronics world such as companies defensive postures regarding their IP portfolios and the excessive term limits of patents. He also seems incredulous that patent would protect the idea not just the expression: FYI, the copyright in the program itself already protects the expression, the patent protects the idea.

Another Sound Off on the Patent System

While he addresses many of the shortcomings of the current system, he also overlooks a few, such as untrained/lazy/poor examiners. This guy really is just preaching to the choir. One sign of hope however, is that some of the lawyers in the video game world I have spoke with don't really see patents as an effective offensive tool. While the Sega case shows patents can be utilized as such, this case is more the exception than the rule.

Video Games Standards Commission

In an article on Next Generation, Eric-Jon Rossel Waugh discusses the possibility of a single console in the future, ushered in to the market by cooperation among the forces that be. I found the article to be a whole lotta wishful thinking, especially when viewed from the business side of things. He envisions a landscape where all developers, big and small, give input into defining standards. He believes the biggest hurdle yet is that video games have yet to "come into their own." What does that mean? There is really only one way to watch TV or one way to watch a DVD and the different technologies employed utilize different delivery systems. But there are so many ways to play video games depending on the hardware, controllers, and console medium (through the Computer or TV). Personally, I think standardization almost sounds like a good idea, but in the end would lead to less innovation in the market.

I say negative on the Video Games Standards Commission: what do you think?

From what little I know about the IEEE, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which handles standards in the electronics industry, their system functions well enough but leads to some thorny patent issues. Most specifically, whenever a standard is up for review, there are always competing members with competing patents who want their technology to become the standard. However part of the trade-off when a technology is selected for the standard, the patent holders must give up rights to sue for patent infringement. I wonder who this would be the biggest problem for? Sony, Microsoft, or perhaps a largest game patent owner, Nintendo?

Nintendo Phone Patent

Filed November 2001 and issued June 2006, Nintendo obtained a patent on a game phone. It looks like its got game boy functionality and phone capabilities. Doesn't look like there is any plan to release it, but the bootleg menus are still interesting.

Who needs the DS phone hacks?

I want to play Metoroid 2.

Top Ten Video Game Patents Article

Here is a sweet article giving a good overview of the video game patent field. It focuses on video game method patents mostly, which, are frankly, the most interesting. Check it out:

Top Ten Video Game Patents

The AVG patent at dispute is not on the list, probably because it is not a pure video game method patent. It could go down as the patent that most affects the industry to date...although that Immersion v. Sony patent suit cost Sony a pretty, pretty penny.

Introversion' s Game Developer Blog

Here is sweet blog that will follow a game production company in England through their construction of a new game. It looks like these guys developed Darwinia, a game I have not played, but has survived with the fittest.

Introversion Blog

Before I could think to myself, "how cool," my law visor began clouding my vision with potential IP problems. Do these guys realize that by disclosing so much about the gaming process they could inadvertently harm their IP assets? They seem preoccupied with disappointing gamers, but what about disappointing their lawyers? More specifically, if their blog mentions particular details about game play mechanics, programming algorithms, or other ideas which may be patentable (here in America...keep in mind they are British), they could trip public notice activators under 102(b) (a bar to patentability if the invention is disclosed in a printed publication one year before applying for a patent). A 102(b) bar to patentability is absolute, so they should be aware if they care to protect their ideas.

It seems like game companies in general, do not care to get patents for their inventions within games. They could do it, but it would be expensive, and the utility of the patent is questionable. Similar to other electronics industries, if the video game companies all decided to patent every innovation they came up with, there would be a huge thicket in no time (many overlapping patents with nobody able to tell whether they can exclude others) and the patent system would cease to function effectively as a spur for innovation: all of the players would be locked up by the others. As a gamer, I think it is good that companies do not pursue game patents too vigorously in order to keep the industry open (some are pretty obvious such as Sega's patent from Crazy Taxi for the idea to have people jump out of the way of your speeding taxi when you are about to hit them). As a soon-to-be lawyer though, I think these companies are foolish for not acting selfishly. Think Adam Smith: screw the industry at large, its all about the Benjamins.

American Video Graphics Lawsuit

One of the first cases to catch my interest is a patent litigation involving American Video Graphics and basically every video game and hardware manufacturer. AVG is a company that acquired some patents a few years back originally granted to Tektronix back in the 80s. Now they are deciding to hold the video game industry hostage with their 4,734,690 patent "Method and Apparatus for Spherical panning." As argued by plaintiff’s pleading, the patent is meant to cover the following: imagine an object at the center of a sphere. By placing a camera on the sphere that always faces the object, a user can move the camera along the sphere to get different angles of the object. The radius of the sphere can be changed, effectively zooming in and out. Is it just me, or does this cover every freaking game created since 1996. If we think about the revenue that has been generated by "infringing" games...well...this case could be worth a lot of money; the thing that pisses me off is that, not only is AVG manipulating the video game industry (whom I love dearly), but they are also manipulating the American patent system (which I may love just a little bit more than Pearl Harbor sucked). As one PC manufacturer put it, "The patents are a mixture of an extremely general, vague variety and of an incredibly dense and complex variety. Manufacturers would need to pay a patent lawyer a lot of money to decipher whether they're even in violation of the more complex ones or not. The bringer of this suit is very conscious of that." AVG are types of fools that give the law a bad name. Who's with me? To top it off, AVG established itself (right before this suit) in the Eastern District of Texas, so that the Federal courts there would have jurisdiction over this case. Why? Because in the 5% of patent litigations that actually make it to trial in this jurisdiction, plaintiffs win 78% of the time. Coincidence...I think not

For more info:

Graphics patent holder sues Sony, MS, Nintendo

3D patent suit extended to Dell, HP, IBM, Sony, others

Patent Suits Target Game Industry