Lawsuits
Bethesda sues Warner Bros. over Westworld Mobile Game
Bethesda Softworks LLC v. Behaviour Interactive, Inc., et al United States District Court for the District of Maryland Docket No. 8:18-cv-01846-RWT, filed June 21, 2018 On June 21, 2018, Bethesda Softworks…
Update – PUBG withdraws lawsuit against Epic
PUBG Corp., the Korean Subsidiary of Bluehole Studios (the developer of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds), has dropped its lawsuit against Fortnite developer Epic Games Inc. PUBG had filed a copyright infringement claim against Epic…
How do you perform a video game?
Epic Games, Inc. et al v. Mendes et al United States District Court for the Northern District of California CAND-3-17-cv-06223, Filed Oct. 27, 2017 We recently reported on Epic Games suing individuals…
Candy Crush Pushing into Possible Patent Infringement
Groove Digital, Inc. v. King.com, LTD. et al., United States District Court for the District of Delaware, 1-18-cv-00836, filed 06/04/2018 On June 4, 2018, Groove Digital filed a lawsuit in the District…
Sony Files for Another IPR on a Patent Relating to Stereoscopic Images
On May 22, 2018, Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (Sony) filed a petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent 8,206,218 (the ‘218 Patent), owned by Techno View IP. The ‘218 Patent is related…
A Battle Royale is Brewing
PUBG Corporation, makers of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, have filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, makers of Fortnite, in South Korea. The lawsuit was filed in the Seoul Central District Court in January. PUBG…
Case Update: GAT v. Activision Blizzard et al.
Game and Technology v. Activision Blizzard et al., C.D. Cal., Case No. 2:16-cv-06499-MLH-SK, Filed August 29, 2016 On March 14, 2018, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) invalidated U.S. Patent No.…
PTAB Institutes Inter Partes Review of Group Messaging Patent
On May 15, 2018, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (the “PTAB”) instituted two Inter Partes Review (“IPR”) proceedings against U.S. 5,822,523 (the “’523 Patent”). The ’523 Patent generally relates to group…
Sony files IPR Petition against 3D Stereoscopy Patent
On May 15, 2018, Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“Sony”) filed a petition for Inter Partes review (“IPR”) of U.S. Patent No. 7,666,096 (the “’096 Patent”). The owner of the ’096 Patent is…
Gamevice v Nintendo – Let’s try this again, at the ITC
Certain Portable Gaming Console Systems with Attachable Handheld Controllers and Components Thereof International Trade Commission, Inv. No. 337-TA-1111 -and- Gamevice, Inc. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. et al CAND-3-18-cv-01942 Last year, we reported…
Epic Games Argues Teenaged Fortnite Hacker should Face Suit
On April 23, 2018, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) filed a response to a Motion to Dismiss filed by Lauren Rogers, the mother of a teenaged Fortnite hacker (“C. R.”) facing a copyright…
WWE Star Randy Orton’s Tattoo Artist Sues WWE, Take Two, 2K over In-Game Tattoos
On April 17, 2018, Catherine Alexander, a tattoo artist from Illinois, sued Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., 2K Games, Inc., 2K Sports, Inc., World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (the “WWE”), Visual Concepts Entertainment, Yuke’s…
Infernal Technology and Terminal Reality sue Microsoft over Lighting and Shadowing Patents
On April 11, 2018, Infernal Technology, LLC and Terminal Reality, Inc. (“Infernal”) filed a complaint for patent infringement against Microsoft Corporation (“Microsoft”). The asserted patents, U.S. 6,362,822 and U.S. 7,061,488, relate to…
Microsoft, Ubisoft, Nintendo, EA, Harmonix, and Majesco win challenge of motion control patent
On April 9, 2018, the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of defendants Microsoft Corporation, Ubisoft, Inc., Nintendo of America, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., and Majesco Entertainment in a…
Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds Creator sues over alleged Chinese knockoffs
On April 2, 2018, PUBG Corporation and PUBG Santa Monica, Inc. (“PUBG”) sued NetEase, Inc. and NetEase Information Technology Corp. (“NetEase”) over alleged copyright infringement, trade dress infringement, and unfair competition. The complaint…
Universal Entertainment sues Aruze Gaming and Kazuo Okada over Slot Machine Patents
On March 30, 2018, Universal Entertainment Corporation (“Universal”) sued Aruze Gaming America, Inc. (“AGA”) and Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada (“Okada”). The asserted patents generally relate to slot machines. The accused products include…
Lindsay Lohan Loses Suit Regarding Grand Theft Auto V
On March 29, 2018, the New York State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court of appeal, rejected actress Lindsay Lohan’s contention that the character “Lacey Jonas” from Grand Theft Auto V…
Nintendo sued by Hybrid Audio regarding MP3 Standards Patent
On March 27, 2018, Hybrid Audio, LLC (“Hybrid Audio”) sued Nintendo of America Inc. and Nintendo Co., Ltd. (“Nintendo”) for alleged infringement of RE 40,281, a reissue of U.S. 6,252,909. The allegedly…
Epic Sues Yet Another Fortnite Cheat Distributor
On Mar. 9, 2018, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) sued Joseph Sperry (a/k/a “Spoezy”), yet another alleged distributor of cheats for the popular online game Fortnite. Similar to previous cases (discussed here, here, here,…
FaZe Clan Sued for Trademark Infringement and Unfair Competition
On January 29, 2018, FaZe Clan, Inc. (“FaZe Clan”) , an online gaming team, was sued by FAZE Apparel, LLC (“FAZE Apparel”) for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition. …