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Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,147,560: Selection of targets for attachment

  U.S. Patent No. 7,147,560: Selection of targets for attachment Issued Dec. 12, 2006, to Sony   Summary: The ‘560 patent describes a method used in video game for a character to…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,147,562: Input character processing method

  U.S. Patent No. 7,147,562: Input character processing method Issued Dec. 12, 2006, to Sega Summary: The ‘562 patent provides a system during an online game where players can interact with each…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,240,093: Use of online messaging to facilitate selection of participants in game play

  U.S. Patent No. 7,240,093: Use of online messaging to facilitate selection of participants in game play Issued July 3, 2007, to Microsoft Summary: The ‘093 describes a system for selecting participants…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,311,608: Online game invitations using friends list

U.S. Patent No. 7,311,608: Online game invitations using friends list   Issued Dec. 25, 2007, to Microsoft Summary: The ‘608 patent describes a method for enabling a user to load a game…

Patents
Lawsuits

Banner & Witcoff secures win for Wargaming.net

Banner & Witcoff Wins Video Game Lawsuit for World of Tanks® Developer Wargaming.net March 25, 2013 – Banner & Witcoff, Ltd. is pleased to announce that on March 22, 2013 the United…

Banner & Witcoff v. Wargaming.net Northern District of Illinois patent
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,269,539: Dynamic weather simulation

  U.S. Patent No. 7,269,539: Dynamic weather simulation Issued September 11, 2007, to Microsoft Summary: The ‘539 patent describes a flight simulation computer game which can receive meteorological conditions for a specific…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,288,028: Method and apparatus for quickly joining an online game being played by a friend

  U.S. Patent No. 7,288,028: Method and apparatus for quickly joining an online game being played by a friend Issued Oct. 30, 2007, to Microsoft Summary: The ‘028 patent seeks to make…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,204,758: Video game apparatus and control method thereof, and program of video game and computer-readable recording medium having program recorded thereon

  U.S. Patent No. 7,204,758: Video game apparatus and control method thereof, and program of video game and computer-readable recording medium having program recorded thereon Issued Apr. 17, 2007, to Square Enix…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,349,830: Weather profiles

  U.S. Patent No. 7,349,830: Weather profiles Issued March 25, 2008, to Microsoft Summary: The ‘830 patent, issued to Microsoft, can be used for its popular Flight Simulator game. The patent allows…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,454,715: Open grid navigational system

  U.S. Patent No. 7,454,715: Open grid navigational system Issued Nov. 18, 2008, to Microsoft Summary: The ‘715 patent describes a game system which helps a player navigate an open grid within…

Patents
Analysis

Drafting a Social Media Handbook Policy for Developers

Gamasutra has just posted a new article by attorney Preeti Khanolkar regarding drafting a social media handbook policy for developers.  The article covers federal labor law, potential conflicts, FTC endorsement guidelines, and…

Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,455,589: Game playing system with assignable attack icons

  U.S. Patent No. 7,455,589: Game playing system with assignable attack icons Issued Nov. 25, 2008, to Sony Summary: The ‘589 patent allows a player to easily target and attack one or…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,468,728: Apparatus for controlling a virtual environment

  U.S. Patent No. 7,468,728: Apparatus for controlling a virtual environment Issued Dec. 23, 2008, to Antics Technologies Limited Summary:  The ‘728 patent describes an apparatus for controlling an interactive virtual environment.…

Patents
Patent Analysis

U.S. Patent No. 7,470,195: Camera control for third-person console video game

  U.S. Patent No. 7,470,195: Camera control for third-person console video game Issued Dec. 30, 2008 Summary: The ‘195 patent provides for a change in camera viewpoint during a third-person shooter. This…

Patents
Lawsuits

New Case: Allen v. EA (Tattoo Art)

Courtesy of Law360: Law360, New York (January 07, 2013, 1:01 PM ET) —Electronic Arts Inc. and former NFL running back Ricky Williams were sued recently in Louisiana federal court by a tattoo…

Allen v. EA Copyrights Lawsuits Tattoo
Misc

OUYA: Username Land Rush

I can’t shake my gut feeling that OUYA is going to be bigger than even they realize right now.  Full disclosure: do I know some of the principals there? Yes.  Have I…

Lawsuits

New Case: Wildcat v. Wizards of the Coast

Wildcat Intellectual Property Holdings v. Wizards of the Coast Case 3:12-cv-04412-D, Northern District of Texas On November 1, 2012, Wildcat filed suit against Wizards of the Coast for patent infringement of U.S.…

ETC Lawsuits Northern District of Texas Patents
Lawsuits

Spry Fox case settles 10/23/12

Previous Post 1: Initial post regarding this case Previous Post 2: Intermediate decision re summary judgment UPDATE October 23, 2012: In view of the summary judgment decision, the parties have reached a…

Misc

Unmasking Intellectual Ventures?

A startup, IP Checkups, is looking to unmask the entities behind Intellectual Ventures (“IV”). IV owns a portfolio of 30,000+ patents. IP Checkups is looking to create a publicly-accessible database of patents…

Misc

Gangnam Style (Skyrim Style)

Nothing like a little comic relief, video game style… Check out the Skyrim version of Gangnam Style.