Posts

Lawsuits

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…

Brandon Broom Charles Vraspir Cheating contract
Lawsuits

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…

Lawsuits

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…

Northern District of Texas patent plaintiff iLife Technologies v. Nintendo of America
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 8,000,581: Advertisement scheme for use with interactive content

  U.S. Patent No. 8,000,581: Advertisement scheme for use with interactive content   Issued August 16, 2011, to Sony Computer Entertainment America LLC Summary: For anyone who’s ever been interrupted from playing…

Analysis

Game Companies Using Inter Partes Reviews (IPRs) As Part of Litigation Strategy

We’ve previously written with updates about inter partes reviews (“IPRs”), where an accused infringer files a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office arguing that the asserted patent should’ve never been…

Lawsuits

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:…

Atari v. Nestle Copyright Trademark
Lawsuits

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…

patent Wireless Accessory Retaining v. Game Stop Corp
Lawsuits

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…

Analysis

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…

Lawsuits Matal v. Tam SupremeCourt Trademarks
News

Babbling Prodigiously and Incoherently – Lanham Act Disparagement Clause Ruled Unconsitutional

BREAKING NEWS: Lanham Act Held Partially Unconstitutional Today the United States Supreme Court held that the disparagement clause of the U.S. Trademark Act (also known as the Lanham Act) is unconstitutional.  In…

Lawsuits

Digital Reg of Texas, LLC v. Adobe

 Digital Reg of Texas, LLC v. Adobe Systems Incorporated et al. U.S. District Court, Northern District of California Case No. 3:12-cv-01971-NC, Filed April 20, 2012       As reported previously, Digital…

Digital Reg of Texas v. Adobe Northern District of California patent
Lawsuits

BOOM! Did you feel it? E.D. Texas will no longer be the patent lawsuit capital of the US

From Law360: The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday put tighter restrictions on where patent owners can file infringement lawsuits, a decision that upends nearly 30 years of established practice and will likely…

Jurisdiction Lawsuits U.S. Supreme Court Venue
Lawsuits

Affirmed – White Knuckle Gaming v Electronic Arts

We previously reported on White Kunckle’s assertion of U.S. Pat. No. 8,540,575 against EA.  Last year, EA secured a win against the patent under 35 USC 101 when the District of Utah…

District of Utah patent White Knuckle Gaming v. Electronic Arts
Lawsuits

Google Sues Uber (THIS COULD BE BIG) – The More You Know…

Wow.  You’ve likely read the news today about Google suing Uber.  No?  Here’s a good summary at The Verge.  Here’s the post on Medium.  From the post on Medium: We found that…

Copyright Google Sues Uber
Misc

Patent Arcade is Hiring! Research Intern Wanted.

It’s that time of year again.  PatentArcade.com (as part of Banner & Witcoff) is looking for a summer Research Intern.  Full or part-time. Hiring criteria are simple.  Qualified candidates: Must be enrolled…

Misc

Computer Science Majors WANTED!

I’ve been preaching this for years.  We need people to go into computer science and electrical engineering.  Here’s more proof. Calling all computer science majors: jobs are waiting for you. http://college.usatoday.com/2017/02/15/calling-all-computer-science-majors-jobs-are-waiting-for-you/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatoday-newstopstories.

Misc

Teen Video Game Design Opportunity

From the Smithsonian Institution: From: SI Email AnnouncementsSent: Monday, February 13, 2017 11:01 AMSubject: Calling All Teens! Calling all teens who are museum-lovers, performers, gamers, designers and adventurers! The Office of Visitor Services and Smithsonian Institution…

Misc

Design Patent Attorney Position

Banner & Witcoff has an open position for a design patent attorney.  Qualified applicants must hold a a JD from an accredited law school, be admitted to practice (or eligible) in the…

News

IPO supports amending 35 USC 101 (patent-eligible subject matter)

In a meeting on Sunday in Orlando, Florida, the IPO Board of Directors adopted a resolution supporting legislation to amend 35 U.S.C. § 101 as follows: 101(a) ELIGIBLE SUBJECT MATTER Whoever invents…

Misc

Now Available! Legal Guide to Video Game Development, 2nd Ed.

…at bit.ly/LVGD2016 … From the ABA Store: Written by experienced lawyers who work closely with software and video game developer clients, this is THE inside guide to the legal issues involved in…

Books