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News: Game Developer Supports Hurricane Relief

The events over the past week down in New Orleans are simply tragic. The repercussions will be far reaching, long felt, and immense in scale. Even the Patent Arcade was down for…

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Case: Atari v. Sega (N.D. Cal. 1994) [P]

Atari Corp. v. Sega of America Inc. 869 F. Supp. 783 (N.D. Cal. 1994) Atari brought a motion for a preliminarily injunction against the manufacture and distribution of Sega’s games on the…

Atari v. Sega Lawsuits patent
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News: Namco, Sony Music Settle Over Pac-Man Samples

Read more here:Gamasutra – Namco, Sony Music Settle Over Pac-Man Samples

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Case: Capcom v. Data East (N.D. Cal. 1994) [C]

Capcom U.S.A. Inc. v. Data East Corp. 1994 WL 1751482 (N.D. Cal. 1994) Capcom filed a motion for preliminary injunction to enjoin Data East from distributing the video game “Fighter’s History,” which…

Capcom v. Data East Copyright Lawsuits
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News: XBOX 360 Preorders Now Available

Gamestop: Click here. EB Games: Click here. I bought mine. Have you?

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Case: Midway v. Publ’s Int’l (N.D.Ill 1994) [C,TM]

Midway Manufacturing Co. v. Publications Int’l, Ltd. 1994 WL 188531 (N.D. Ill 1994)   Thinking of writing a tell-all book of strategies for your favorite video game? You may want to think…

Copyright Lawsuits Midway Manufacturing v. Publications Int’l
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News: In-game property mugger ARRESTED!

A man has been arrested in Japan on suspicion carrying out a virtual mugging spree by using software “bots” to beat up and rob characters in the online computer game Lineage II.…

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Case: Magnavox v. Activision (N.D. Cal. 1985) [P]

The Magnavox Co. v. Activision, Inc. 1985 WL 9469 (N.D. Cal. 1985) In a case of infringement involving one of the earliest video game patents, Magnavox asserted its exclusive licensing rights on…

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Lawsuits

Case: Atari v. Nintendo (Fed. Cir. 1992) [C]

Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of Am., Inc. 975 F.2d 832 (Fed. Cir. 1992) I. Statement of Facts Nintendo designed a program, the 10NES, for its Nintendo Entertain System (NES) to prevent…

Atari Games v. Nintendo Lawsuits patent
Lawsuits

Case: Atari v. Nintendo (N.D. Cal. 1993) [C,P]

Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. 30 U.S.P.Q.2d 1401 (N.D. Cal. 1993) (Atari II)   Following a 1992 Federal Circuit ruling upholding a preliminary injunction in favor of Nintendo (see…

Atari Games Corp. v. Nintendo Copyright Lawsuits Northern District of California
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News: Xbox 360 provides compatability with iPod, PSP

In an elegant display of its interopability, developer Newbie has demonstrated the Xbox 360’s ability to connect to portable media devices such as the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and iPod devices. Read more…

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Case: Lewis Galoob v. Nintendo (9th Cir. 1992) [C]

Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. 964 F.2d 965 (9th Cir. 1992). I. Background Lewis Galoob Toys developed a device called the Game Genie, which allowed the player of…

Copyright Lawsuits Lewis Galoob Toys v. Nintendo
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News: Xbox modder goes to jail

US District Court hands eight-month sentence to Pandora’s Cube employee for “Super Xboxes.” 31-year-old Hitesh Patel was an employee of Pandora’s Cube, a game retailer in the Washington, DC area. Read article…

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News: Frosty Treats v. Sony affirmed by 8th Circuit

On July 25, 2005, the Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit affirmed the Western District of Missouri’s dismissal of Frosty Treat’s complaint against Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc. Frosty Treats asserted…

Frosty Treats v. Sony News Trademark Western District of Missouri's
Lawsuits

Case: In re Coin Operated Games (ITC 1981) [C,TM]

In Re Coin-Operated Audio-Visual Games and Components Thereof No. 337-TA-87, 214 USPQ 217 (ITC 1981)   A complaint was filed against numerous competitors with the U.S. International Trade Commission by Midway Mfg.…

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News: Musings About Modding

The ‘hot coffee’ mod for Grand Theft Auto resulted in the game’s rating being changed from Mature to Adults Only. Many games not only don’t mind modding, but the game’s developer actually…

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Case: Data East v. Epyx (9th Cir. 1988) [C]

Data East USA, Inc. v. Epyx, Inc. 862 F.2d 204 (9th Cir. 1988).   In July 1984, Data East USA, Inc. began distributing in Japan a video game titled “Karate Champ,” and…

Copyright Data East USA v. Epyx Lawsuits
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News: Marvel Signs Exclusive MMO Deal For XBOX

Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it won exclusive rights to develop and publish multiplayer online games starring Marvel Enterprises Inc.’s super heroes, including Spider-man, the X-men and the Hulk. The deal covers…

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Lawsuits

Case: Universal v. Nintendo (2nd Cir. 1984) [TM]

Universal City Studios v. Nintendo Co. Ltd. 746 F.2d 112 (2nd Cir. 1984) Tanks, soldiers, countless helicopters, and even Godzilla were no match for King Kong, so how did Nintendo manage to…

Lawsuits Trademark U.S. District Court Universal City Studios v. Nintendo
Lawsuits

Case: In re Coin Operated Games (ITC 1982) [C,TM]

In Re Coin-Operated Audiovisual Games and Components Thereof (viz. Rally-X and Pac Man) No. 337-TA-105, 218 USPQ 924 (ITC 1982) A complaint was filed against 35 respondents with the U.S. International Trade…

Lawsuits Midway Mfg v. U.S. International Trade Commission Trademark