Posts
News: Korean Copyright Suit over Advent Rising
I don’t normally track foreign video game cases, but perhaps I should. However, it does make one more category of work for me in view of all my regular work and blogging…
News: Disney to shutter Virtual Magic Kingdom
Disney has announced that its Virtual Magic Kingdom will close May 21, 2008,… for good. The VMK is no longer accepting new users, either. Disney’s VMK was launched in 2005 as a…
Case: Eros v. Simon (SETTLED 2007) – Second Life
Somehow this well reported case got overlooked here at the Patent Arcade, and that appears to be because I thought I’d already written about it. In any event, it now gets its…
News: IBM to host private Second Life regions
IBM said today that it would become the first company to host private regions of the virtual world Second Life on its own computer servers. if(window.yzq_d==null)window.yzq_d=new Object(); window.yzq_d[‘rMuhOkLEYpU-‘]=’&U=1270rgt1l%2fN%3drMuhOkLEYpU-%2fC%3d-1%2fD%3dRMP%2fB%3d-1’; The project is in…
Case: Tafas v. Dudas (USPTO rules)
Today the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted Tafas’ and Smithkline Beecham’s Motions for Summary Judgment, effectively holding that the USPTO’s proposed 5/25 and 2+1 rules regarding claims…
Visit the Patent Arcade in Second Life
I now have a presence in Second Life, on the PG (i.e., ok for all ages) region of Pumori. My XboxLIVE gamertage is Aviator, so naturally keeping with the theme my SL…
LINKS! LINKS! LINKS!
I’ve received a number of requests to link to other web sites. I guess that is a good thing, and means people actually read this blog! I don’t have room for all…
News: Second Life creates Brand Center to protect its trademarks
As Second Life matures, they are taking some fairly customary steps, one of which is to take a more proactive role to protect their own intellectual property. In this vein, Linden Labs…
Case Update: MDY v Blizzard – Summary Judgment Motions
Well it looks like this case has not settled yet, and the parties have filed their summary judgment motions. MDY’s Motion can be viewed here. Blizzard’s filings are here, here, and here.
Case: Eros v. Leatherwood (Settled, March 2008)
Eros, the maker of the Second Life sex bed, sued the avatar Volkov Catteneo for illegally copying and selling unlicensed copies of the sex bed, thereby infringement the intellectual property of Eros.…
U.S. Patent: 6,264,560 – USPTO grants re-exam request
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office agreed to re-examine online-gaming patent 6,264,560 after the Electronic Frontier Foundation challenged it on the grounds that the technology covered by the patent had been used…
Case: Activision v. Gibson (C.D.Cal.) PENDING
After receiving a letter accusing them of patent infringement, Activision filed a declaratory judgment action March 12, 2008, against Gibson Guitars, asking the court for finding of invalidity and noninfringement. Gibson is…
Case: Romantics v. Activision (E.D.Mich) – Publicity
The re-performance of a song for use in a video game pursuant to a non-exclusive synchronization license does not, without more, violate the original artists’ right of publicity, even if the artists…
Article: Hey, that’s MY game!
Ever wonder what the basic principles are for protecting your video game based on intellectual property law? Steve and I wrote this article, recently published on Gamasutra, that provides a brief introduction…
Case: MGA v Ubisoft (Settled)
From IP Law360: MGA Entertainment, makers of the popular Bratz dolls, will hand over $13.2 million to video game company Ubisoft Entertainment, after an arbitrator ruled that Ubisoft had not violated the…
News: Man saves lives playing AMERICA’S ARMY
Ok, “saves lives” may be a bit of an exaggeration, but what is true is that a North Carolina man assisted passengers from an SUV he saw flip on a highway, using…
News: MMOGs on the rise
The trend continues, and MMOGs are getting even more popular. Here are a couple recent articles that you might find of interest: From WIRED, this article discusses three new MMOGs being released…
News: Chinese lawsuit over virtual goods
As reported by Virtually Blind, Shanda, developer of MMORPG The World of Legend, has been ordered to pay 5,000 Yuan (US $679) and apologize to a gamer for taking away his virtual…
Case Update: Lonestar v. Nintendo (E.D.Tex.)
Lonestar Inventions LP v. Nintendo of America Inc., case no. 6:07-cv-00261 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This lawsuit between patent-holding company Lonestar Inventions LP and gaming…
News: Second Life CTO resigns
Sorry I’ve been radio silent for a while. Life has been busy, you know how it goes… In any event, it appears that Cory Ondrejka, employee No. 4 at San Francisco-based Linden…