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Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,421,056: Three-Dimensional Image Processing Apparatus

  U.S. Patent No. 6,421,056: Three-dimensional image processing apparatus Issued July 16, 2002, to Nintendo Co. Ltd.   Summary:  The ‘056 patent set out to solve a practical problem that had existed…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,626,760: Video Game Apparatus and Memory Medium Therefor

  U.S. Patent No. 6,626,760: Video game apparatus and memory medium therefor Issued September 30, 2003, to Nintendo Co. Ltd.     Summary: The ‘073 patent allows a player to lock his character…

Patents
Lawsuits

Unlockable Content and Microtransactions in Mobile Games – New Case – Inventor Holdings LLC (D. Del. 2014)

Inventor Holdings, LLC v. [Multiple Defendants] United States District Court for the District of Delaware File Nos. 1-14-cv-01067 (Gameloft); 1-14-cv-01068 (Glu Mobile); 1-14-cv-01069 (Kabam); 1-14-cv-01070 (King.com); 1-14-cv-01071 (ngmoco); 1-14-cv-01072 (Rovio); 1-14-cv-01073 (Supercell)…

District of Delaware patent plaintiff Inventor Holdings v. Multiple Defendants
Lawsuits

Bingo! for Video King – Alice decision applied to bingo manager system

Planet Bingo, LLC v. VKGS LLC (dba Video King) United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit – Nonprecedential – Case No. 2013-1663 Decided: August 26, 2014 In what it called…

patent Planet Bingo v. VKGS United States
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,331,146: Video Game System and Method With Enhanced Three-Dimensional Character and Background Control

  U.S. Patent 6,331,146: Video game system and method with enhanced three-dimensional character and background control Issued December 18, 2001, to Nintendo Co. Ltd.               Summary:…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,722,989: Virtual Pet Game in which the Virtual Pet Can Converse With the Player and Learn New Words and Phrases From These Conversations

  U.S. Patent No. 6,722,989: Virtual pet game in which the virtual pet can converse with the player and learn new words and phrases from these conversations Issued Apr. 20, 2004, to…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,695,694: Game Machine, Game Device Control Method, Information Storage Medium, Game Distribution Device, and Game Distribution Method

  U.S. Patent No. 6,695,694: Game machine, game device control method, information storage medium, game distribution device, and game distribution method Issued February 24, 2004 Summary: The ‘694 patent describes a game…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,692,357: Video Game Apparatus and Method With Enhanced Player Object Action Control

  U.S. Patent No. 6,692,357: Video game apparatus and method with enhanced player object action control Issued February 17, 2004, to Nintendo Co. Ltd. Summary:  The ‘357 patent describes a game storage…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,666,764: Method of Controlling a Character in a Video Game

  U.S. Patent No. 6,666,764: Method of controlling a character in a video game Issued Dec. 23, 2003, to Konami Summary: The ‘764 patent describes a video game system where enemy characters…

Patents
News

Targeting German consumers? Play by Germany’s rules!

Courtesy of : SCHULTERIESENKAMPFF Internet services that specifically target German consumer, e.g. by addressing them in German, have to adhere to German law when doing so. In a default judgment, the regional…

Germany
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,641,481: Simplified Matchmaking

U.S. Patent No. 6,641,481: Simplified matchmaking Issued November 4, 2003, to Microsoft Summary: For those of you who play Xbox Live, the ‘481 patent (aka “Quitters Play Together”) will be right up…

Patents
Lawsuits

Noriega Sues Activision Over Call of Duty Character

Jumping on the “Hey, that’s me!” bandwagon, Former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega, 80, filed a lawsuit in California yesterday against video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc., alleging that Call of Duty: Black…

Lawsuits Likeness Noriega v . Activision Blizzard patent
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,634,948: Game System and Information Storage Medium

  U.S. Patent No. 6,634,948: Game system and information storage medium Issued Oct. 21, 2003, to Namco Summary: The ‘948 patent allows a second player to seamlessly join a game without affecting…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,626,760: Video Game Apparatus and Memory Medium Therefor

  U.S. Patent No. 6,626,760: Video game apparatus and memory medium therefor Issued September 30, 2003, to Nintendo Co. Ltd.   Summary: The ‘706 patent describes an image data generator which allows…

Patents
Lawsuits

Lindsay Lohan sues Rock Star over Grand Theft Auto

Lindsay Lohan is suing Rockstar Games and its owner Take-Two Interactive over a character in Grand Theft Auto V that she alleges is an “unequivocal” representation of her image, according to the…

Lawsuits Likeness Lindsay Lohan v. Rock Star patent
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,579,176: Computer-Based Growing Simulation Method and System

  U.S. Patent No. 6,579,176: Computer-based growing simulation method and system Issued June 17, 2003, to Inventec Corp. Summary: The ‘176 patent describes a computer-based growing simulation system used in role-playing games.…

Patents
Lawsuits

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court nails Aereo’s coffin shut.

Not exactly a video game case, but important the world of Copyrights nonetheless.  The decision everyone has been waiting for it out.  Today the U.S. Supreme Court held that Aereo is equivalent…

Aereo Copyrights Lawsuits
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 6,604,008: Scoring Based Upon Goals Achieved and Subjective Elements

U.S. Patent No. 6,604,008: Scoring based upon goals achieved and subjective elements Issued: August 5, 2003 Assigned to: Microsoft Technology Licensing Priority Date: June 8, 2001 Summary: The ‘008 patent describes a…

6604008 Microsoft Microsoft Technology Licensing Patents
Analysis

Commentary: Alice v. CLS Bank

Patent Law Update June 20, 2014 Computer-Implemented Inventions: Ideas That Are Fundamental Truths And Generically Implemented Are Not Patent EligibleIn a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Thomas on June 19, 2014, the Court…

Alice v. CLS Bank Lawsuits patent Section101
Lawsuits

BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court strikes down patents that computerize an abstract idea

What do pornography and patents have in common?  Read on to find out! Today the United States Supreme Court has held, in Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank Int’l, that claims drawn to…

Alice Corporation v. CLS Bank Lawsuits Patents United States