Sony, Blizzard, Activision, NCsoft, Turbine named in patent suit

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Sep 18, 2009 3:07 pm PT

Following settlement with Microsoft, Palktalk Holdings files complaint against makers of PS3, WOW, COD, Guild Wars, LOTRO, and Runescape.

In March, Paltalk Holdings leveled a hefty $90 million lawsuit against software giant Microsoft. Paltalk's claim centered on two of its patents, which create a solution for computers to effectively communicate with one another in online-gaming situations. As it turns out, Paltalk's claim stood on strong enough legs for Microsoft to settle the case for an undisclosed sum, midway through the trial, in June.

Paltalk certainly has an opportunity to cash in.

Now, Paltalk has its sights set on a number of other game-industry heavyweights, including Sony Computer Entertainment and several of its divisions, Activision Blizzard, NCsoft, Turbine, and Jagex. At issue, again, is Paltalk's computer-to-computer synchronization patents, which, as noted by Paltalk's lawyer Max Tribble as part of its Microsoft suit, involve "technology for ways to control interactive applications over multiple computers."

Paltalk's current suit doesn't shy away from the high-profile games in each of the aforementioned company's catalogues. Games specifically named in Paltalk's suit that are purportedly in violation of the company's patents include Guerrilla Games' Killzone 2, Evolution Studios' Motorstorm, EverQuest I and II, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and World at War, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, and Runescape.

Notably, Paltalk's suit notes that Sony, Activision, and Blizzard had previously been licensees of the technology, which it bought from Mpath Interactive in 2001. The suit notes that as early as 1997, Sony had allegedly used Mpath's technology as part of its Web site The Station. Likewise, Activision had allegedly begun using the technology in 1997, while Blizzard had purportedly employed the same patents since 1995.

Due to what it claims to be a willful violation of its patents, Paltalk is seeking damages that total three times what they would normally be against Sony, Activision, and Blizzard. The company has also petitioned the court to prevent the companies from continuing to violate its patents, among other requests.

481 Comments

  • tk9780

    Posted Nov 7, 2009 2:53 am PT

    I bet it cost Microsoft more for 'meal' allowances for its legal team than the settlement amount, of course saying that you'll willing to pay and giving the money over totally different!
    Good luck to Paltalk if this lawsuit based on a solid working product.

  • Circlestrafe

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 7:15 am PT

    It's pathetic how some of you are happy about the suit as long as it's against 'this company' or 'that company' and not 'my game company'. You do realize who ends up losing in this suit (whether it's legit or not). It's us; We lose in higher costs. Do you really think the CEOs and top execs are losing anything here? Pull your heads out!

  • DestroyMonsters

    Posted Oct 12, 2009 1:32 pm PT

    WOOT! None of my games are listed... None of my companies are listed, I wonder what would happen if they got what they wanted and shut down WoW, I bet it would be funny to see all those screamind fanboys frothing and twitching in the streets, begging god to bring back his night elf druid...

  • floomoo2003

    Posted Oct 6, 2009 11:47 pm PT

    Money and video games should have nothing to do with eachother in anyway. impossible, but would be great

    Then again, aslong as all the 'sue fever' going around doesn't effect MW2, I don't care at all.

  • dg3215

    Posted Oct 6, 2009 10:20 am PT

    Someone always comes out of the wood workt to file a law suit against successful companies to make up for their failures.

  • misha97 posted Oct 1, 2009 6:48 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    misha97

    Posted Oct 1, 2009 6:48 pm PT (hide)

    Finally, time to sue blizzard. Blizzard was fine until they released WoW and started having crappy customer service.

  • wbezuidenhout

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 12:53 pm PT

    Yes, indeed, P2P chat software, really being endangered by the competition in game lobbies, yes, really taking the technology forward and innovating.

    Have you considered that there's "more than one way to skin a cat"? Have you ever stopped paying for something because you figured out a way to do it even better? Hell, back in university (2001) we were ALL infringing on their patent because we wrote a custom chat program for our hostel's network.

    My big issue is that, at the moment, patent law allows you to patent "an idea", but doesn't force you to tie it to a design. So, I could patent "A interactive program which allows a person to engage one or more other people in simulated combat using both fictional or historic weaponry in order to kill another player, which drives toward a greater goal of winning the map in which this competition is held. Synchronisation and communication between clients would be done using the TCP/IP network protocol..." and proceed to sue every company who brings out ANY kind of FPS/RTS game... Do I deserve any of that money? Hell no! But by law I do, since now that is considered "my idea", instead, I should put forward my own FPS/RTS and be able to get THAT patented. Now if someone tries to make a game very similar to mine, they can't, I hold the patent, and the IP, so my idea is safe, and the future of my idea (By way of IP) is also safe.

    And oh yes, sorry to repeat myself, but you should really check out Netrek, link in my post below.

  • Ontain

    Posted Sep 28, 2009 8:00 am PT

    Why are ppl pissed at Paltalk? They didn't just sue out of the blue. many of the companies had licensed their technology. and they do have peer 2 peer chat software on the web. it's not like they did nothing with the patent. they've been making software and licensing.

  • Scorchgame

    Posted Sep 24, 2009 7:54 pm PT

    Take the time, sue the crap out of them. The longer the more money they get. That is one good strategy. By the way, why do they all use the similar stuff. NOW its co-operation between Microsoft and Sony!

  • blaznwiipspman1

    Posted Sep 23, 2009 5:20 pm PT

    i agree where someone said having a patent for an idea that is something that anybody can think of, should not be a patent in the first place. Also what happens when more than one person comes up with the same idea but did not reference each others work and came up with it individually? I think only the truly unique patents that are infringed upon should be able to sue. And the reason why paltalk waited so long is that 1) back 10 years ago nobody played MMO's since few people had internet access, so yes their idea was unique.

  • TrueIori

    Posted Sep 23, 2009 4:41 pm PT

    Hope they lose this crap. Company like Pal talk is what wrong with the world where everyone thinks they have the right to sue anyone for anything.

  • Fireclanmaster

    Posted Sep 23, 2009 11:03 am PT

    Paltalk is only using the instruments you've given them.
    By that I mean the very idea of taking a pantent on an idea is ridiculus.
    I'm from Sweden, and here, people are only allowed to take patents on actual things they have made.

    I'm not judging, and will not judge Paltalk for what they are doing. They are only living in a world we have helped create.

    This is related to copyright-problems society is having as well. In the end it all becomes a pointing competition.
    Who made what first, and did that even resemble something that existed before that?

    Personally, I'm against everything that encourages gold digging. But at the same time, people need to get rewarded for their discoveries and achievments.

    The current system encourages only abuse and stiffness of any kind of development. Look at todays fossil fuel problem. Something that Might have been different if USA didn't have this absolute system. A system that impedes all atempts to create something new.

    This is just a vague guess, but it feels like these kind of things will start riots in the end. The sad thing is that we will act out against the company that abuse the system.
    When in fact, we were the ones who made and accepted it from the start.

  • jamesh-42

    Posted Sep 23, 2009 9:17 am PT

    So effectively Microsoft has funded Paltalk to attack their competition.

    Having only searched briefly, I assume that these patents are related to multi-party voice chat?

  • nevryn

    Posted Sep 22, 2009 10:19 pm PT

    This is just retarded. It's almost as bad as ideaflood suing everyone for having user subdomains. Let's see... what's next... oh my guess will be someone will sue MySpace/Facebook/Twitter because they somehow patented the idea of people having online diaries and talking on the internet to each other.

  • wbezuidenhout

    Posted Sep 22, 2009 2:59 pm PT

    @djinyoung

    1) How about finding a different/better way of doing the same thing? If, hypothetically, you patented a "pointy object used to scribble on something" (ie pen), but you implemented that as "feather-and-ink", and I came up with a ballpoint pen, you could currently sue me for patent infringement even though I came up with the ballpoint part (Since you patented the function and not the design, which is the major flaw imho).

    2) Wrong, they filed during September in 2006 (http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20060913005371/en or http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10257478-56.html), if you're going to make statements like that, kindly link your source.

    3) See (2), here are the patents: http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/5822523.html and http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6226686.html, with descriptions as vague as that they could quite possibly sue the internet itself. Remember that a 'message' could be human communication or just a piece of data, so ANY form of communication is covered.

  • TevoxZi

    Posted Sep 22, 2009 8:44 am PT

    This is pathetic.

  • Viron_Berserker

    Posted Sep 22, 2009 7:32 am PT

    It's not spreading the wealth URError, Paltalk is just trying to get what they think is theirs. I do think their claim is total bull but then I can't really judge. I mean if they had infringements on their patents that pre-date their Microsoft lawsuit then why in the hell are they bringing it up now? The reason: money. Notice that most of the games they list are all popular games, they're just out for money, and that is why I dislike them. It's not like they are bleeding money or that they feel that this insults them or anything. They're just after what they THINK they deserve.

  • kristi_was_h123

    Posted Sep 22, 2009 7:21 am PT

    Actually Microsoft does not loose money, it will just charge you a few dollars more for their games for example.

    A example would be when Thai Government Pharmaceutical Organization started producing generic antiviral drugs in March 2002 the cost of a monthly treatment for one person plummeted from $500-$750 to $30, hence making treatment more affordable. In response the US government placed Thailand on the list of "copyright violators". I know that this it's not software related but it's about the same thing.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_patents

  • URError

    Posted Sep 22, 2009 5:20 am PT

    honestly who cares if microsoft loses money? it's a billion dollar company, if I was in Paltalk's postion to spread the wealth I'd do the same thing

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