Intellectual Property Law

Beneficial Innovations, Inc. v. Blockdot, Inc. et al.

Posted on December 09, 2009
As previously reported, Beneficial Innovations, Inc. (?Beneficial?) filed suit in the Eastern District of Texas accusing several entities of willfully infringing claims of U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,702 entitled ?Method and system for playing games on a network...

Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft Just Can't Control Themselves

Posted on December 04, 2009
With the growing popularity of video game systems such as Nintendo's Wii, Sony's Playstation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, it seems that all sorts of patent holders are coming out of the woodwork to share in a piece of the profit pie. In what is undoubtedly another case of unwanted attention, Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have been sued by Eleven Engineering, Inc...

Case Update: Innovention Toys v. MGA Entertainment Inc.

Posted on November 27, 2009
Further to our previous report, a motion for reconsideration was filed by MGA Entertainment Inc. and the retailer defendants in this case, and on November 17, 2009, that motion was denied by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana...

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...

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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...

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...

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