Multi-Publisher Legal War Looms Over 3-D Patent

Exclusive: Multi-Publisher Legal War Looms Over 3-D Patent

A patent infringement case for the patent, "Method and Apparatus for Spherical Planning," is now pending. The case could have enormous implications and could affect nearly every 3-D video game ever made. Put on your 3-D glasses and read all about it...
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Thats about every game made in the last few years. :LOL:
 
Wow, that's absolutely incredible. What a legal system.
 
It's utter crap. They should have contested the patent infringement years ago. By waiting they have built up an enormous list of defendents who made tons and tons of cash, while they stood by and watched.

By not bringing those early infringements to court, they have effectively dissolved their right to make claim on their patent.

They are SOL, and "tough titties", I say.
 
Homercidal said:
It's utter crap. They should have contested the patent infringement years ago. By waiting they have built up an enormous list of defendents who made tons and tons of cash, while they stood by and watched.

By not bringing those early infringements to court, they have effectively dissolved their right to make claim on their patent.

They are SOL, and "tough titties", I say.
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is there a statute of limitations to defending a patent? i'm not so sure that there is. can someone correct me on this?
 
With any luck, someone will notice they've done this simply to earn themselves some dosh.

Check out the prosecutors, see if their in financial trouble.
 
Homercidal said:
They should have contested the patent infringement years ago. By waiting they have built up an enormous list of defendents who made tons and tons of cash, while they stood by and watched.
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mc.cool smith didn't create the patent in the first place. they bought the rights from another company, then sued everyone.
 
Adidajs said:
is there a statute of limitations to defending a patent? i'm not so sure that there is. can someone correct me on this?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about a statute of limitations, but I do know that if you do not protect your patent, De Facto standards can develop which negat eyour ability to claim infringment. That is why so many people file patent claims, it's often not about trying to grab money, but trying to prevent the ideas from becoming used generally.

In my mind, it seems ludicrous that the plaintiff waited since (1988?) to start to protect their idea. To me this seems like baiting:

"Whoa, someone is making video games using OUR patent ideas!"

"Yeah, but if we wait until the really BIG money starts rolling in, we can cash in on all that revenue!"

"Yeah, let's let them keep thinking it's ok until we really need the money, then BAMMO!"

Another patent that was filed for is for .jpg images. Also, the "Double-click" is patented. Can you imagine a company suing for infringment on one of those ideas? No, because they are now considered common and part of our culture.
 
Wow what a loser. Thats just to funny.
 
This will be fun to see how it pans out. I do wonder what the real damage would be if the publishers lost the court case meaning I would be interested to see what impact it would have on consumers like us?
 
epmode said:
mc.cool smith didn't create the patent in the first place. they bought the rights from another company, then sued everyone.
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Anyone see whats blatant in all of this?

THEY WANT MONEY! I bet they couldn't give a damn about the patent.
 
I patented making a dot on a piece of paper. All art work sales using any form of pencil should give me a percentage of their sales, Hey don't worry it doesn't have to be high percentage, I'll grab what I can take.
 
I say good luck. They have a lot more money to pay a lot better lawyers.
 
Here is a link to the actual patent.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-...,734,690.WKU.&OS=PN/4,734,690&RS=PN/4,734,690

From browsing through it it looks like they are describing vector graphics but I am not an expert on 3D graphics. I saw no mention of a texture or anything common of todays games. Just the object view state and the world view state with the math to go along with it. This is an interesting patent and I can see why they are taking it seriously. It looks to me like it is only describing how to rotate and view a 3D object in software and display it on a 2D screen (plane) I think the game publishers can argue that there is only one way to do that and the development of this process and the algorithms to go with it would be easily discovered by anyone working on the problem and in fact the first 3D games were built without knowledge of this patent and came to the same conclusions. I don't know the patent term for that but the lawyers sure do.
 
Yet another example of the archaic pattent system failing miserably in the digital age. The pattent will probably be revoked for being too broad.

As far as the effect on consumers, it would mean this asshat will make millions charging publishers to do what theyve been doing for years. The cost of wich will be passed onto us resulting in higher prices for games or any other software that displays 3-D images.

//OMG this is too funny...it will be revoked...it is waaaaay to broad...the guy essentially pattented "displatying 3 dimensions on a moniter"

The actual Pattent

Read the related pattents....on of the others is someone trying to pattent "zooming"

This shit is hilarious, like microsoft claiming the rights to "double-clicking"
 
Sounds a lot like the shysters who sue businesses over handicap access.
 
That is ridiculous. Those lawyers will acheive nothing apart from making themselves a laughing stock. :rolleyes:
 
Parasite said:
This shit is hilarious, like microsoft claiming the rights to "double-clicking"
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This is a little different. Microsoft patents everything to avoid being sued by anyone who comes along and patents something they are using at the same time or to use in counter suits when they are sued for lame things. All large companies do this. A million lame patents covering every moronic thing done in a project. It is a result of moron lawyers like this one who come around and sue for money and not damages. So if someone sues Microsoft for some lame patent they turn around and counter sue for one of thier lame patents. It is a cold war tactic. Whoever has the most lame patents wins and doesn't get sued. Notice that Microsoft isn't on the list of publishers being sued even though they have lots of cash and have published lots of games. heck you could probably sue them for DirectX because it displays 3D stuff right. The people who are being sued are the ones that they think they can muscle the most money out of without being counter sued for too much if they lose. It is a messed up system but it keeps alot of lawyers employeed and off the street.
 
InvaderScooge said:
This is a little different. Microsoft patents everything to avoid being sued by anyone who comes along and patents something they are using at the same time or to use in counter suits when they are sued for lame things. All large companies do this. A million lame patents covering every moronic thing done in a project. It is a result of moron lawyers like this one who come around and sue for money and not damages. So if someone sues Microsoft for some lame patent they turn around and counter sue for one of thier lame patents. It is a cold war tactic. Whoever has the most lame patents wins and doesn't get sued. Notice that Microsoft isn't on the list of publishers being sued even though they have lots of cash and have published lots of games. heck you could probably sue them for DirectX because it displays 3D stuff right. The people who are being sued are the ones that they think they can muscle the most money out of without being counter sued for too much if they lose. It is a messed up system but it keeps alot of lawyers employeed and off the street.
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You know... now that you got me thinking about MS: This would be a good time for Microsoft to step in and go from being almost a mockery in the IT community to actually helping the industry by using some muscle to subdue idiotic lawsuits like this that try to extort money from smaller companies. Wouldn't it be nice for them to save the day for once rather than being the one people need to be saved from? I mean, I would at least have some respect for them...
 
Wonder if they will try and hit up 3dsmax, c4d or Maya on this...
 
I don't know about you guys, but i'm totally on the side of the developers on this one. Noone ****s with the gaming industry as that would harm my ability to play great games.
 
I own the patent to the human race, I SUE YOU ALL!
 
I can't believe this retard...I would like to see Microsoft step in...then I might enjoy using there products more....but if the Idiot wins there are going to be price increases to games
 
They won't win this, far too broad. Reminds me of some company trying to trademark the jpeg image format a while ago.
 
I've patented the letter "e" also uppercase "E". So please, keep discussing.. Why does this remind me of USA? Sue this sue that.... :dork:
 
ts3ng said:
I've patented the letter "e" also uppercase "E". So please, keep discussing.. Why does this remind me of USA? Sue this sue that.... :dork:
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Oh no. I can't put words in a row that form a thought about stuff.

Talking without an "copyright infringement" is fun :D
 
Computer5k said:
Oh no. I can't put words in a row that form a thought about stuff.

Talking without an "copyright infringement" is fun :D
Click to expand...

Agh, you found a way around my evil plans..

Soon I'll have thought itself patented, people won't even think about infringing that one.. :p
 
The topic pretty much explains it.. People claiming hillarious patents from before my great grandfather and so on.
 
And with the EU-Commission considering software patents (wasn't it so?) this thing really make me shake my head, sad.
 
Here's a nice kicker:

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are therefore intended to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.
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IE: Anyone using anything in a similar vein (and thus the "true spirit and scope of the invention") to show 3D images on a 2D screen are copying us and as such are infringing on this patent.

Noone has used their so-called "preferred embodiment" in years...

I hope they crash and burn as hard as those lawyers who represent fat kids and sue fast-food joints.
 
This has been touched upon, but I just wanted to clarify... the actual game companies shouldn't be responsible at all. Every single one of their games uses an API to communicate with the operating system to display their graphics, either DirectX or OpenGL. Technically they should be chasing after Microsoft and whoever "owns" OpenGL.
 
LAYP said:
I patented making a dot on a piece of paper. All art work sales using any form of pencil should give me a percentage of their sales, Hey don't worry it doesn't have to be high percentage, I'll grab what I can take.
Click to expand...

FOOOOL!

I patent breathing!

STOP THAT! Where's my cash? Stop that!

Waiting this long to enforce the patent is purely predatory and disgusting. On these grounds alone, regardless of the legality of the issue, I want the "patent" holders to burn for greediness.

Quelaar
 
I patent having babies, having sex, oxygen, carbon dioxide, blood, Quelaar, Universe, Earth, Sun, Water, Subatmoic particles, Atoms, the Internet, Cloths, all private parts, legs, toe nails, finger nails, uranus, aids, cancer, colds, flus, "Shows Stuff on Screens", anything that has to do with building, teeth any use of any letter. To do\have\touch\want\desire\wish they had\anything to do with them i get $1,000,000,000,000,000 each time.

IMA RICH!
 
Minerel said:
I patent having babies, having sex, oxygen, carbon dioxide, blood, Quelaar, Universe, Earth, Sun, Water, Subatmoic particles, Atoms, the Internet, Cloths, all private parts, legs, toe nails, finger nails, uranus, aids, cancer, colds, flus, "Shows Stuff on Screens", anything that has to do with building, teeth any use of any letter. To do\have\touch\want\desire\wish they had\anything to do with them i get $1,000,000,000,000,000 each time.

IMA RICH!
Click to expand...

How much to buy my own self-patent back?

Quelaar
 
patents are silly - 5 mins of searching revealed that...

an Australian recently tried to patent a "circular transportation facilitation device" and got an innovation patent for it

The US Patent Office issued patent 6,368,227 on 9 April to Steven Olson of St Paul, Minnesota for a "method of swinging on a swing"

Microsoft has successfully patented using short, long or double clicks to launch different applications on "limited resource computing devices" - presumably PDAs

BT claims it invented the hyperlink in 1976, and anyone who uses the World Wide Web owes them money.

crazy talk
 
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