Verdict delayed in Brutal Legend lawsuit

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has delayed a ruling on the Brutal Legend lawsuit between developer Double Fine Productions and former-publisher turned adversary Activision. But even with a delay on this ruling, it doesn’t look good for Activision. A ruling on the case has been suspended until August 6, but Los Angeles Superior Court judge Craig Karlan promised to have a final ruling on the case prior to EA’s August 8 deadline for the game.

Activision began this legal battle against the developer in June, with claims that it still owned the rights to publish the game and that it had invested nearly $15 million into the project. Brutal Legend was supposed to be published by Vivendi Universal Games before the company was bought by Activision to form Activision Blizzard last year.

While the judge emphasized in court that neither side had the upper-hand in the case, he also told lawyers for Activision that he didn’t have confidence in their case: “I can’t say there’s a likelihood of success here.” he commented.

Expect to hear a more definitive ruling next week on Thursday, August 6.

ESA vs. the Chicago Transit Authority

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), challenging the CTA’s prohibition on certain computer and video game advertisements as a violation of the guarantees of free speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleges that the CTA is unfairly targeting the entertainment software industry by enacting an ordinance that selectively bans advertisements of computer and video games rated “Mature 17+” (M) or “Adults Only 18+” (AO).

In January of this year, the CTA enacted Ordinance 008-147, prohibiting any advertisement that “markets or identifies a video or computer game rated “Mature 17+” (M) or “Adults Only 18+” (AO).” The ESA’s suit contends that this new ordinance is unconstitutional and restricts speech in a public forum that is otherwise open to all speakers without a compelling interest for doing so. In addition, the complaint argues that the ordinance discriminates on the basis of viewpoint and ignores less restrictive means of achieving the supposed ends of the ordinance.

Microsoft Sued for $90 Million Over Halo and Xbox LIVE

Apparently, in these hard economic times, one way some companies are trying to get by is by painting targets on other companies with much bigger wallets. And when you talk about companies with big wallets, well, you can’t find a much bigger target these days than Microsoft. Enter PalTalk Holdings, who is suing Microsoft to the tune of $90 million, claiming that MS has infringed on patents PalTalk bought from MPath Interactive. PalTalk claims the two patents in question were infringed upon by Microsoft in the creation of the Halo games and the Xbox LIVE service.

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Creditors Cry Foul on Midway Bankruptcy

There’s been some shady dealings going on at Midway it seems, at least if creditors to the ailing publisher are to be believed. On Friday, a number of Midway’s bondholders, to whom which more than $150 million is owed, filed a motion in Delaware District Bankruptcy Court objecting to Midway’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy status, first announced that same day.

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Worlds.com Sues NCSoft Over MMO Technology

Interesting bit of news out of the MMO world today, as Worlds.com Inc., a company known for creating virtual worlds back in the 90s, announced that it had filed a civil suit against NCSoft for patent infringement. Worlds.com is trying to enforce patent #7,181,690, which it was originally filed for back in 1996. The patent, in short, describes a “highly scalable architecture for a three-dimensional graphical, multi-user, interactive virtual world system”. In the broader scale, Worlds.com is claiming that the patent gives it controlling interest in the massive multiplayer online market. The first company it’s lining up in its legal crosshairs is NCSoft, the company behind the MMO games City of Heroes, Tabula Rasa, Guild Wars, and even the free to play MMO Dungeon Runners. In the suit, Worlds.com is seeking a permanent injunction keeping NCSoft from infringing on the patent in question, as well as unspecified monetary damages.

Based on a quick read through of the complaint filed in Texas court, it looks like World.com is going after NCSoft simply for its use of MMO technology. So why not go after Blizzard or Sony first? It looks like NCSoft was just the unlucky first case. Admittedly, it’s a smart move on World.com’s part, as NCSoft is a big enough target to help establish a case against other companies in the future should World.com win this first lawsuit, while at the same time, NCSoft it not so big as to have the huge bankroll for a massive legal battle. Win or lose, this’ll certainly be a case to watch in the coming year.

Virtual World Times has a full PDF copy of the complaint here.

WWE Vs. THQ, Round 2

A Connecticut Superior Court has dismissed a good percentage of World Wrestling Entertainment’s claims against THQ and THQ/JAKKS Pacific LLC. The court dismissed charges related to allegations that the videogame license between WWE and THQ/JAKKS Pacific LLC was void or voidable based upon JAKKS Pacific alleged bribery of WWE’s licensing agent Stanley Shenker and employee James Bell.

Despite this victory for THQ and friends, the lawsuit moves forward on other charges including certain agreements with Smackdown series developers Yuke’s Co. Ltd., a developer and distributor in Japan. I hope that the companies will make nice and settle the rest out of court and leave the brawling for the ring.