Paltalk Holdings targets Turbine with new lawsuit

Written on September 17, 2009 at 4:43 pm, by James Fudge

Turbine Entertainment, makers of such MMO’s as Asheron’s Call, Dungeons and Dragons Online Unlimited and The Lord of the Rings Online, is facing a lawsuit from the same company that convinced Microsoft to settle out of court in 2006. According to the Boston Globe, Turbine has been accused of patent infringement related to its Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online titles, Paltalk Holdings. That company succeeded in negotiating a settlement with Microsoft in 2006, related to its Halo games.

The company filed the lawsuit with the US District Court in Marshall, Texas earlier this month, alleging that Turbine’s game violate a technology patent it owns which covers sharing data among connected computers. The company is also targeting Sony of Japan, Activision Blizzard, NCsoft, and Jagex with similar lawsuits.

A spokesperson for the company had no comment on the matter, saying only that “Turbine does not provide comment on pending lawsuits.” We’ll have more on this story as it develops.

Court Tosses Gibson Lawsuit Against Activision

Written on March 3, 2009 at 7:30 am, by James Fudge

The US District Court for the Central District of California has ruled against Gibson, according to Engadget. The lawsuit filed against Activision alleged that the guitar controller used with Guitar Hero infringed on an obscure Gibson patent on “simulating a musical performance.” The court sided with Activision, saying that Guitar Hero instruments are more like toys and therefore don’t infringe on Gibson’s patent. Further the patent only covers analog audio output signals – not MIDI or other types of audio output.

Since the decision was kind of broad it is doubtful that Gibson would be able to peruse its case against Harmonix, which it filed at about the same time as it did with its lawsuit against Activision. this is a good thing, because there are plenty of other companies it could have sued — like Disney — had it prevailed.

Konami Sues Rock Band Creators

Written on July 11, 2008 at 2:36 am, by James Fudge

I’m shocked this didn’t happen sooner. According to a Bloomberg report Konami is suing Harmonix for patent infringement over its rock and roll game Rock Band.

The patents, filed in 2002 and 2003, relate to simulated musical instruments, a music-game system and a musical-rhythm matching game, according to the report. Konami is certainly no stranger to the music rhythm scene – the company publishes the Dance Dance Revolution series and `Karaoke Revolution. The company also produces arcade games that use peripherals in Japan including DrumMania and Guitar Freaks. The company also recently trademarked Guitar Revolution, which ties into its other “Revolution” games.

But here’s the million dollar question: does Konami have the right to sue and did it come up with the idea to use instrument style peripherals with rhythm based games? Some might argue that their arcade games did in 1999. The other question that may be answered soon is will Konami sue Red Octane and Activision Blizzard for Guitar Hero? I would say that a lawsuit is almost inevitable. While it might have the legal grounds to sue, it could prove to be a public relations nightmare for them. I mean who doesn’t love Guitar Hero and Rock Band?

Source: Bloomberg