Top 10 Gaming Patents: How Many Slowed Down Innovation?
from the go-through-the-list dept
rijit writes in to point to a list of the "top ten most important video gaming patents." It's clearly a pretty subjective list, but what's most interesting is that as you read through the list you realize that almost all of the patents described were used by companies to hold back others from innovating. Is one company really harmed by having another company show a big arrow in the sky directing which way you should go in a video game car race? What was wrong with just letting the games and the consoles actually compete on the merits of what they put into the market? Reading through the list of patents (and the related lawsuits) it's hard to see a single one that actually encouraged innovation -- but there are plenty that clearly made it much more difficult and expensive for others to innovate.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Why should Nintendo be the only people allowed to produce games for their platform (the same goes for all companies incidentally)
Sega weren't republishing as far as I am aware - they were writing new games
In any other industry this would be pounced on and is totally anti competitive. why shouldn't Sega produce a game for Nintendo? and once I've bought the console it should be my right to shove anything into it within reason (cheese toasties probably wouldn't be a good thing)
Ford made my car but they don't make the brake pads, tyres etc etc I have used over the years nor did they make the radio I installed
Having said that I recognise stealing the software from the patent office was probably a bad thing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: by Enrico Suarve
If companies choose to restrict access to their devices I do not think it is a good thing, I hate being locked into anything, but does it lock out innovation? After all Nintendo fell to last place against it's competitors in the past decade. If Nintendo had an open standard for anyone to use when they first entered the US market, would the video games market have come as far? Nintendo's competitors had to innovate to get the lead, didn't they? Is that not what a patent is meant to do, give you a lead on your competitors while they try and compete against you?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: by Enrico Suarve
I still don't see how locking people out of your console helps even the console manufacturer
Sega didn't innovate due to this - they stole and were slapped down for it. Sorry for opening up the thread to fanboys but I think lockout is one of the big reasons PCs are more widely distributed than Macs, Apples insistance on locking companies out at the beginning meant that more other companies got onto the PC bandwagon early on helping push it forward with more options and choice
I can't help wondering what would happen if Sony/Nintento/Microsoft opening up one of theior platforms in this way
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Total BULLSHIT....
Since that time in the mid nineties the use of tactile feedback better known as force feedback for PC gaming has been under the thumb of this Company which does almost ZERO innovating and lots of suing. What innovation has taken place since this horrible patent was given? Nothing but a name chage of the actual API in over 10 years since this patent was granted. Is that innovative in any way?
Dr. Louis Rosenberg is the patent whore that owns this so-called comapny which has all but ruined an entire industry. This companies ONLY goal is to horde patents, PERIOD...
The really sad irony is that the horribly liberal Ca appeals Cts upheld this travesty of the patent system twice....
Dr. Louis Rosenberg you have given the ammo to all anti semites world-wide and you should be ashamed of yourself for destroying an entire industry for no reason except pure GREED... Your company harms the public. If you were in front of me right now I'd bitch slap your sad sack ass.
Mitch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
What the hell is wrong with you?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: jsnbase
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
..|..
Bitch
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
uhm.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
????
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: ????
to #9 He means the achievement system not the in game points.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Microsoft
Microsoft scored a patent that allows a player to gain points based on meeting goals in a game.
Kill a monster, score some points.
Shoot a basket, score some points.
Though this patent could never hold up in court, it could cost a small business a lot of money in legal fees to defend itself.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Microsoft
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Scooby
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Scooby
Yes, as much as it was for you to add yours.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Innovation?
The only innovation I saw was finding craftier ways to word patents and even craftier ways to circumvent them.
Worst. List. Evar.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: ????
about the pong patent though, that's 100% understandable. that was waaay before anyone had any idea video games were going to be any kind of commercial success in any way, and it was originally played on a modified oscilloscope at the end of the 50s, although that wasn't the one patented and it wasn't called pong; that's the name atari made famous. pong = patentable ... pac-man would be a little harder to pull off though, considering the format for the arcade style machines that it was originally designed for had already done. the device in which pong was patented with was quite original when it came out...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
It's about Sega, the top of page 4
"The court saw through Sega’s arguments, stating that ...“[a] trademark is misused if it serves to limit competition in the manufacture and sales of a product. That is the special province of the limited monopolies provided pursuant to the patent laws.”"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]