Lawsuits
Case: Atari v. Nintendo (Fed. Cir. 1992) [C]
Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of Am., Inc. 975 F.2d 832 (Fed. Cir. 1992) I. Statement of Facts Nintendo designed a program, the 10NES, for its Nintendo Entertain System (NES) to prevent…
Case: Atari v. Nintendo (N.D. Cal. 1993) [C,P]
Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. 30 U.S.P.Q.2d 1401 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (Atari II) Following a 1992 Federal Circuit ruling upholding a preliminary injunction in favor of Nintendo (see…
Case: Lewis Galoob v. Nintendo (9th Cir. 1992) [C]
Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. 964 F.2d 965 (9th Cir. 1992). I. Background Lewis Galoob Toys developed a device called the Game Genie, which allowed the player of…
News: Frosty Treats v. Sony affirmed by 8th Circuit
On July 25, 2005, the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit affirmed the Western District of Missouri’s dismissal of Frosty Treat’s complaint against Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. Frosty Treats asserted…
Case: In re Coin Operated Games (ITC 1981) [C,TM]
In Re Coin-Operated Audio-Visual Games and Components Thereof No. 337-TA-87, 214 USPQ 217 (ITC 1981) A complaint was filed against numerous competitors with the U.S. International Trade Commission by Midway Mfg.…
Case: Data East v. Epyx (9th Cir. 1988) [C]
Data East USA, Inc. v. Epyx, Inc. 862 F.2d 204 (9th Cir. 1988). In July 1984, Data East USA, Inc. began distributing in Japan a video game titled “Karate Champ,” and…
Case: Universal v. Nintendo (2nd Cir. 1984) [TM]
Universal City Studios v. Nintendo Co. Ltd. 746 F.2d 112 (2nd Cir. 1984) Tanks, soldiers, countless helicopters, and even Godzilla were no match for King Kong, so how did Nintendo manage to…
Case: In re Coin Operated Games (ITC 1982) [C,TM]
In Re Coin-Operated Audiovisual Games and Components Thereof (viz. Rally-X and Pac Man) No. 337-TA-105, 218 USPQ 924 (ITC 1982) A complaint was filed against 35 respondents with the U.S. International Trade…
News: Grokster loses at Supreme Court
I would be remiss for not mentioning it. Read the opinion here.
Case: Stern Elec. v. Kaufman (2nd Cir. 1982) [C,TM]
Stern Electronics, Inc. v. Kaufman 669 F.2d 852 (2nd Cir. 1982). I. Background In late 1980, Konami Industry Co., Ltd. developed a video game titled “Scramble,” to which, in early 1981, Stern…
Case: Midway v. Omni (1st Cir. 1981) [C]
Midway Manufacturing Co. v. Omni Video Games, Inc. 668 F.2d 70 (1st Cir. 1981) Midway, the creator of the games Pac-Man, Rally-X, and Galaxian, sued Omni for copyright infringement of these games.…
Update: Davidson & Associates v. Internet Gateway
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis will hear arguments at 9 a.m. today in this case that may decide how the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, applies to…
Case: Ahn v. Midway (N.D. Ill 1997) [C]
Ahn et al. v. Midway Mfg Co. et al. 965 F.Supp 1134 (N.D. Ill 1997) (Order on Motion for Summary Judgment) I always look forward to reading a video game case that…
Case: Accolade v. Distinctive (N.D.Cal. 1990) [C]
Accolade, Inc. v. Distinctive Software, Inc. 1990 WL 180239 (N.D.Cal. 1990) Accolade was seeking a preliminary injunction again Distinctive Software, which makes this case intriguing because Distinctive is a developer for whom…
Case: Alpex v. Nintendo (Fed. Cir. 1996) [P]
Alpex Computer Corp. v. Nintendo Co. 102 F.3d 1214 (Fed. Cir. 1996) I. Background In the mid-1970’s, Alpex Computer Corporation developed and patented a new home video game system technology using removable,…
Case: Midway v. Dirkschneider (D.Neb. 1983) [C] – Dirkschneider II
Midway Mfg. Co. v. Dirkschneider et al. 571 F.Supp 282 (D.Neb. 1983) (“Dirkschneider II”) In this follow up to Dirkschneider I, the court grants summary judgment to Midway with respect to Midway’s…
Case: Midway v. Dirkschneider (D.Neb. 1981) [C] – Dirkschneider I
Midway Mfg. Co., v. Dirkschneider et al. 543 F. Supp 466 (D. Neb. 1981) In one of the earliest decisions in a video game infringement case, the court issues a preliminary injunction…
Update: Home Gambling Network v. Piche et al. (P) [D.Nev.] NEW CASE
Home Gambling Network et al. v. Piche et al., CV-S-05-0610-KJD-LRL (D.Nev, filed May 16, 2005) On May 14, 2012, A federal judge in Nevada on May 14 reversed a magistrate judge’s recommendation…
Update: Konami v. Roxor Games (P) [E.D.Tex]
Konami Corporation v. Roxor Games Inc., 2-05CV-173 (E.D.Tex), filed May 9, 2005. Konami Corporation has filed a lawsuit against Roxor Games, Inc., in the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of…
Case: Midway v. Artic Int’l (C) [7th Cir.] 1983
Midway Mfg. Co. v. Artic. Int’l, Inc., 704 F.2d 1009 (7th Cir. 1983), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 823 (1983). Galaxian is a video that is something of a cross between Space Invaders…