video game

Don't Hate the Player - Intellectual Property Analysis of Sony’s US Patent No. 8,000,581

Patent application US 20110274409 filed by Sony has found its way into the news media. Sony has the gall to patent the operation of pausing play in video games in order to show advertisements. But among the mockery and outrage, where are the facts?

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Intellectual Property Analysis of Simulated Musical Concert Experience Patent Referenced in Gibson Guitar Company v. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., MTV Networks, and Electronic Arts, Inc. Lawsuit

This week’s Patently Obvious report focuses on U.S. Patent No. 5,990,405 which the Gibson Guitar Company claimed in a March 20, 2008 lawsuit that Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., MTV Networks, and Electronic Arts, Inc. infringed upon. On June 8, 2010, Gibson settled its patent infringement claims against Harmonix, Viacom, Electronic Arts, and other retailers. The terms of this settlement were undisclosed, but it can be presumed that each of the defendants paid a licensing fee in the process.

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Gaming the Gamers: Intellectual Property Analysis of Walker Digital LLC v. Activision Inc. et al

On January 3, 2011, Walker Digital, an IP focused company well known for cases against Microsoft and Facebook, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Zynga, Activision and the latter’s subsidiary Blizzard Entertainment. The asserted patent, U.S 6,425,828 (hereafter ‘828), claims a method for conducting a networked electronic tournament for a plurality of players and storing player information for use in subsequent sessions. Zynga (FarmVille), Activision (Call of Duty and Guitar Hero) and Blizzard (World of Warcraft) are giants in the online gaming industry.

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