Year: <span>2009</span>
Beneficial Innovations, Inc. v. Blockdot, Inc. et al.
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…
Case Update: No Doubt v. Activision Publishing Inc.
Activision has responded in federal court to a lawsuit originally filed in California state court by No Doubt over Activision’s use of the band’s likeness in “Band Hero.” According to Activision, the…
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft Just Can’t Control Themselves
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…
Case Update: Innovention Toys v. MGA Entertainment Inc.
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…
Checkmate for Innovention?
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…
Back on Stage in the Guitar Hero/Gibson Suit?
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…
Copyright in Screen Shots – Sony v. Bleem (9th Cir. 2000)
Sony Computer Entertainment America v. Bleem, LLC 214 F.3d 1022 (9th Cir. 2000) Background Bleem marketed a software emulator that allowed users to play Sony Playstation games on their personal computers. Bleem’s…
Article: The great free beer debate…
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…
Case Update: Worlds.com v. NCSoft (E.D.Tex., filed Dec. 24, 2008)
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…
New Case: Eros v. Linden Research
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…
Case Update: Worlds.com v. NCSoft
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…
Free passes to Engage Expo!
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…
Article on Pirate Bay
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…
PlayCrafter offers free Flash game creation
www.PlayCrafter.com Here’s a nice article from Wired.com about it, too.
Wi-Fi Oh No! Bandspeed Sues Sony, Nintendo and Apple
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…
Zynga files four more lawsuits
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…
News: New Patent Assigned to Microsoft
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…
Appeal Update: Fenner Investments Ltd. v. Microsoft et al.
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,…
Case Dismissed: IQ Biometrix v. Perfect World Entertainment
IQ Biometrix, Inc. v. Perfect World Entertainment, Inc. et al. United States District Court for N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division Case No.: 1:09-cv-03180, Filed May 27, 2009 We previously wrote…
Ross Dannenberg Speaking at Seattle Penny Arcade Expo Sep. 4
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…