Patent Arcade

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. Also included in the complaint were counts for unfair competition and false description of origin, conspiracy, and counterfeiting. The goods included clothing and scripted furniture (aka, sex beds), among other things. After only two months it appears that Mr. Simon saw the light and the plaintiffs proved their point--the case settled in December, 2007, for about $525, and an agreement by Mr. Simon to cease his questionable activities.

At the very least this case is important because it demonstrates the seriousness that many Second Life content creators give to their businesses, treating their intellectual property just as any other business would. The stakes will only get higher as virtual worlds such as Second Life get bigger, and the players have even more money at stake.

Documents:

Complaint-07_10_24_eros_et_al_v_simon_complaint.pdf

Settlement-ecf.nyed.uscourts.gov_cgi-bin_show_temp.pdf

Labels: Copyrights, Lawsuits, MMOG, Trademarks

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. In addition, Linden Labs has created the "inSL" mark for users to use under certain conditions to signify their presence in Second Life. The Brand Center is online here.

Labels: MMOG, News, Trademarks

Updated: May 16, 2008


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. If you notice any that are missing, please let us know.

• Anascape Ltd. v. Microsoft et al. (E.D.Tex.) May 14, 2008
  
• Eros v. Leatherwood (M.D. Fla.) SETTLED 03/2008
  
• Activision v. Gibson Guitar, C.D. Cal, Filed March 12, 2008 (PENDING)
  
• Romantics v. Activision, __ F.Supp.2d __ (E.D. Mich. 2008)
  
• MGA v. Ubisoft (Los Angeles County Court) - Settled 2/2008
  
• Eros v. Simon (E.D.N.Y. 2008) SETTLED
  
• MicroUnity v. Sony Computer Entertainment America (E.D.Tex) - SETTLED 11/2007
  
• Beneficial Innovations v. Blackdot, filed June 20, 2007 (E.D.Tex.)
  
• WizKids, Inc. v. Wizards of the Coast, filed May 25, 2007 (W.D. Wa)
  
• KSR v. Teleflex (2007)
  
• Friedrich v. Marvel Enterprises, filed April 4, 2007
  
• Crawford v. Midway Games Inc., C.D. Cal., Docket 2:07-cv-00967-FMC-JC (filed 2007)
• MDY Industries (WoWglider) v. Blizzard Entertainment, (D.Az., filed 10/25/06), Docket No. 2-06-cv-02555-PHX-DGC.
  
• Bragg v. Linden Lab (PENDING) E.D.Pa.
  
• Fenner Investments v. Microsoft et al. (PENDING) E.D. Tex.
  
• Immersion v. Sony (PENDING) N.D. Cal. (on appeal to Federal Circuit)
  
• Konami v. Roxor Games (SETTLED) E.D.Tex.
• Lucent v. Microsoft (PENDING) S.D. Cal.
• MP Games v. Shufflemaster (PENDING) W.D. Wash
• Forterra Systems, Inc. v. Avatar Factory (PENDING) N.D. Cal.
  
• Freedom Wave v. Mad Catz (PENDING) C.D. Cal.
• Hasbro v. RADgames (PENDING) S.D.N.Y
• Int'l Gameco v. Multimedia Games, Inc. (PENDING) S.D. Cal.
• Home Gambling Network v. Piche et al. (PENDING) D.Nev.
• CBC v. Major League Baseball, __ F.3d __ (8th Cir. 2007)
  
• Planet Bingo v. Gametech Int'l, __ F.3d __ (Fed. Cir. 2006)
• E.S.S. Entertainment 2000 v. Rock Star Video, __ F.Supp.2d __ (9th Cir. 2006)
  
• Davidson & Associates, Inc. v. Internet Gateway, __ F.3d. __ (8th Cir. 2006)
• Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. v. Filipiak (N.D. Cal., December 27, 2005)
  
• Marvel v. NCSoft (SETTLED 2005) C.D. Cal. (original post)
  
• Team Play Inc., et al. v. Boyer, __ F.Supp.2d __, 2005 WL 2413344 (N.D.Ill. Sep 28, 2005) (NO. 03 C 7240)
• JVW Enterprises, Inc. v. Interact Accessories, Inc., __ F.3d __ (Fed. Cir. 2005)
  
• Frosty Treats, Inc. v. Sony Computer Equipment America, Inc., __ F.3d __ (8th Cir, 2005)
  
• Incredible Techs., Inc. v. Virtual Techs., Inc., 400 F.3d 1007, 284 F. Supp. 2d 1069(7th Cir. 2005)
• Sega v. Fox (Settled) N.D. Cal. 2004
• Okor v. Atari Games Corp., 76 Fed. Appx. 327 (Fed. Cir. 2003)
• Sony Computer Entm't America, Inc. v. Bleem, LLC, 214 F.3d 1022 (9th Cir. 2000)
• Sony Computer Entm't, Inc. v. Connectix Corp., 203 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2000)
• Microstar v. Formgen Inc., 154 F.3d 1107 (9th Cir. 1998)
• Ahn v. Midway Mfg. Co., 965 F. Supp. 1134 (N.D. Ill. 1997)
• Roginski v. Time Warner Interactive, Inc., 967 F. Supp. 821 (M.D. Pa. 1997)
• Alpex Computer Corp. v. Nintendo Co. Ltd., 102 F.3d 1214 (Fed. Cir. 1996)
• Nintendo of America, Inc. v. Brown, 94 F.3d 652 (9th Cir. 1996)
• Interactive Network Inc. v. NTN Communications, Inc., 875 F. Supp. 1398 (N.D. Cal. 1995)
• Atari Corp. v. Sega of America, Inc., 869 F. Supp. 783 (N.D. Cal. 1994)
• Sega v. MAPHIA, 857 F.Supp. 679 (N.D.Cal. 1994)
  
• Capcom U.S.A., Inc. v. Data East Corp., 1994 WL 1751482 (N.D. Cal. 1994)
• Midway Mfg. Co. v. Publ'ns Int'l, Ltd., 1994 WL 188531 (N.D. Ill. 1994)
• Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., 30 U.S.P.Q.2d 1401 (N.D. Cal. 1993)
• Sega v. Accolade, 977 F.2d 1510 (9th Cir. 1992)
  
• Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., 975 F.2d 832 (Fed. Cir. 1992)
• Atari Games Corp. v. Oman, 979 F.2d 242 (D.C. Cir. 1992)
• Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc., 964 F.2d 965 (9th Cir. 1992)
• Accolade, Inc. v. Distinctive Software, Inc., 1990 WL 180239 (N.D. Cal. 1990)
• Red Baron-Franklin Park, Inc. v. Taito Corp., 883 F.2d 275 (4th Cir. 1989)
• Data East USA, Inc. v. Epyx, Inc., 862 F.2d 204 (9th Cir. 1988)
• Frybarger v. International Business Machines Corp., 812 F.2d 525 (9th Cir. 1987)
• Universal City Studios, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., 746 F.2d 112 (2nd Cir. 1986)
• Magnavox Co. v. Activision, Inc., 1985 WL 9496 (N.D. Cal. 1985)
• Atari, Inc. v. JS & A Group, Inc., 597 F. Supp 5 (N.D. Ill. 1983)
• Midway Mfg. Co. v. Artic Int'l, Inc., 704 F.2d 1009 (7th Cir. 1983)
• Midway Mfg. Co. v. Dirkschneider, 571 F. Supp. 282 (D.C. Neb. 1983)
• Atari, Inc. v. North American Philips Consumer Elecs. Group Corp., 672 F.2d 607 (7th Cir. 1982)
• In Re Certain Coin-Operated Audiovisual Games and Components Thereof (viz, Pac-Man and Rally-X), No. 337-TA-105 (ITC 1982)
• Stern Elec. V. Kaufman, 669 F.2d 852, 213 USPQ 443 (2d Cir. 1982)
• The Magnavox Co. v. Mattel, Inc., 216 U.S.P.Q. 28 (N.D.Ill. 1982)
  
• Williams Electronics, Inc. v. Artic International, Inc., 685 F.2d 870, 215 USPQ 405 (3rd Cir. 1982)
• Activision v. Atari (Settled, 1982)
  
• Atari, Inc. v. Amusement World, Inc., 547 F. Supp. 222 (D. Md. 1981)
• In Re Coin-Operated Audio-Visual Games and Components Thereof, No. 337-TA-87, 214 USPQ 217 (ITC 1981)
• Midway Manufacturing Co. v. Omni Video Games, Inc., 668 F.2d 70 (1st Cir. 1981)
• Midway Mfg. v. Dirkschneider, 543 F.Supp 466 (D.Neb 1981)
• The Magnavox Co. v. Chicago Dynamic Industries, 201 U.S.P.Q. 25 ( N.D.Ill. 1977)
  

Don't worry, we'll get to them all... eventually.

Labels: Copyrights, Features, Lawsuits, MMOG, Patents, Resources, Trademarks