Lawsuits
Lucasfilm’s suit over “Sabacc” Mobile Game Disputes Protection of “Fictional Goods”
Plaintiffs Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC and Lucasfilm Entertainment Company Ltd. LLC (“Lucasfilm”) have challenged attempts by defendant Ren Ventures Ltd. and Sabacc Creative Industries Ltd. (“Ren”) to dismiss a lawsuit by Lucasfilm alleging…
Four Konami Slot Machine Patents Held Invalid
Konami, no stranger to invalidity challenges against their video gaming patents, recently had four more patents directed to slot machines struck down as directed to abstract ideas. On Feb. 21, 2018, the…
Electronic Arts and Ubisoft Sued for Infringement of Database Differences Patent
On Feb. 8, 2018, Pure Data Systems, LLC (“Pure”) sued Electronic Arts, Inc. (“EA”) and Ubisoft, Inc. (“Ubisoft”) for alleged infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 5,999,947 to Zollinger et al. and 6,321,236…
Nintendo files two IPR Petitions against User Input Stream Patent
On Feb. 7, 2018, Nintendo Co., Ltd. and Nintendo of America, Inc. (“Nintendo”) filed two petitions for Inter Partes Review of U.S. 6,219,730 to Nguyen, a patent owned by Genuine Enabling Technology…
Sony Interactive Entertainment files Inter Partes Review of 3D Video Patent
On Feb. 1, Sony Interactive Entertainment, LLC (“Sony”) filed a Petition for Inter Partes Review of U.S. Patent No. 9,503,742 (the “’742 Patent”). The prosecution history of the ’742 Patent is not…
Pokémon GO Creator Niantic, Inc. sued for Augmented Reality Patent Infringement
On January 30, 2018, Barbaro Technologies, LLC (“Barbaro”) sued Niantic, Inc. (“Niantic”) for the alleged infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,373,377 and 8,228,325. Barbaro’s asserted patents are generally directed to integrating real-world…
Bankers & Brokers Loses Big on Card Game Patent Claims in New Jersey
On January 17, 2018, U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez of the District of New Jersey dismissed all patent infringement claims asserted by Joseph Scibetta (a/k/a “Bankers & Brokers”) (“Scibetta”), against Slingo,…
Photographer sues IGN over Pokémon GO Photo
On January 12, 2018, photographer Christopher Sadowski sued IGN Entertainment, Inc. (“IGN”) for copyright infringement. The copyright in question: a photograph of the Pokémon GO homepage on Sadowski’s cell phone, similar to (but…
Epic sues (another) alleged Fortnite Hacker
On January 8, 2018, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) continued its legal crusade against alleged Fortnite hackers by suing Yash Gosai, a resident of Auckland, New Zealand, for copyright infringement, breach of contract,…
AM General Sues Activision over Humvees in Call of Duty
AM General LLC v Activision Blizzard Inc et al, FIled November 7, 2017, SDNY, No. 17-08644. AM General—the maker of HUMVEE vehicles—has sued Activision over Call of Duty’s inclusion of HUMVEE vehicles…
Blizzard files Inter Partes Review re: World of Warcraft Mounts, Citing Dungeons and Dragons
On November 6, 2017, Activision Blizzard, Inc. (“Blizzard”) filed a petition for inter partes review (“IPR”) against Game and Technology Co. Ltd. (“GAT”). Blizzard is challenging claims 1-7 of U.S. Patent No.…
Epic Games files a Fourth Suit against Alleged Fortnite Hackers
October 27, 2017, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) sued three foreign individuals–James Mendes, Konstantin Vladimirovich Rak, and Oleksey Olekseevich Stegailo–for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, breach of contract, and, under…
Epic Games sues two more alleged Fortnite hackers
On October 17, 2017, Epic Games sued Philip Josefsson and Artem Yakovenko for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, breach of contract, and, under California law, unfair competition. The allegations…
Epic sues alleged Fortnite hackers Brandon Broom and Charles Vraspir
On October 11, Epic Games, Inc. and Epic Games International (“Epic”) sued individuals Brandon Broom and Charles Vraspir in two separate suits (5:17-CV-0511 and 5:17-CV-0512) for copyright infringement, circumvention of the Digital…
Landmark Networks sues Nintendo over eShop
On October 4, 2017, Landmark Networks, LLC (“Landmark”) sued Nintendo Co. and Nintendo of America (“Nintendo”) for alleged infringement of two networking patents: U.S. 6,856,966 and U.S. 6,018,720. Landmark asserts that certain…
iLife wins $10.1 M from Nintendo
On August 31, 2017, a Northern District of Texas jury awarded plaintiff iLife Technologies, Inc. (“iLife”) $10.1 million from Nintendo of America, Inc. (“Nintendo”) for patent infringement. The accused products included Wii…
Atari sues Nestle over Breakout Advertisement
Atari Interactive, Inc. v. Nestlé, SA No. 3:17-CV-04803-SK (N.D. Cal. Aug. 17, 2017) On August 17, 2017, Atari Interactive sued Nestlé, alleging that a Nestlé KIT KAT® advertisement titled “Kit Kat:…
Another Nintendo Switch Lawsuit, this time against GameStop
Wireless Accessory Retaining, LLC v. GameStop Corp. No. 2:17-CV-167-RWS (N.D. Ga. Aug. 9, 2017) Fresh on the heels of Gamevice’s lawsuit against Nintendo, which we discussed in a previous post, Wireless Accessory…
Wikipad Creator GameVice sues Nintendo over the Nintendo Switch
Gamevice, Inc. v. Nintendo Co. No. 2:17-CV-05923 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 9, 2017) On August 9, 2017, Gamevice – perhaps best known for the Wikipad and slide- and snap-on cell phone controllers for…
Supreme Court Not A Fan Of Trademark Ban – A Reasoned Analysis of Matal v. Tam
SUPREME COURT NOT A FAN OF TRADEMARK BAN By R. Gregory Israelsen On Monday, June 19, 2017, the Supreme Court held in Matal v. Tam[i] that the disparagement clause of the Lanham Act violates the…