Putting 'Game Pieces' Together Online To Win Something Patented; All The Big Social Gaming Companies Sued
from the this-got-a-patent? dept
Someone, who prefers to remain anonymous, sent over the news that a company named Everglades Interactive has sued basically all of the big "social gaming" providers for patent infringement. Among those sued are EA, Playdom, Disney (which just bought Playdom), Zynga, Playfish, Rockyou and Crowdstar. The patent in question? It's patent 6,656,050, for an "odds accelerator for promotional type sweepstakes, games, and contests." If you read the details, it seems like the pretty standard process of taking various sweepstakes involving matching pieces (bottle caps, peel off stickers, etc.) to get certain prizes but moving it online. Of course, once you move such a physical process online, you can do slightly different things since you're not limited by geography and physical distribution. But all that seems like it should be obvious. Not to the patent examiners of course, who judged it patent worthy.So how do all these social gaming sites infringe?
... by, among other things, making, using, importing, offering for sale, and/or selling products and services that provide game pieces that are applied to a game board at a game site, make information available about the pieces needed to complete a winning combination, allow the player to share or trade the game pieces, and enable the players to easily and securely store game pieces....Of course, you would think that since pretty much every social gaming system does this, that it would be clear that this was an obvious thing to do if you're building a social gaming system. But, tragically (and ridiculously), that's not how our patent system works.
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Filed Under: patents, social gaming, sweepstakes
Companies: disney, ea, playdom, rockyou, zynga
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Do the Dew?
So....how is there not a ton of prior art for this one?
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Re: Do the Dew?
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What did you expect when the system went from being funded by tax paying dollars to that of private individuals looking for an easy windfall?
The fact we still use patents in this system says quite a bit.
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There are other laws that let people waste money on fighting useless legal battles, but what's wrong with looking this one?
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There are other laws that let people waste money on fighting useless legal battles, but what's wrong with looking this one?"
You know, we the people should have a sit down. All 350,000,000 of us not in the 10%, or make 90% of all monies EARNED, own 73% of all land only paying 55% of the tax burden in the USA. And come up with a pay structure to use the court system.
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Solution
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Tech patent formula
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Odds 10:1, Place your bets!
Two internets and a cookie, going once, going twice...
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2003 Patent
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Seriously almost makes me want to be american, i could patent breathing if i worded it confusingly enough i reckon!
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http://news.priorsmart.com/everglades-interactive-v-playdom-l3jj/
This company probably never even bothered to code this 1 hour comp sci 201 project. I'd love to do a livestream implementing this BS
Techcrunch as the press needs to fight against the injustice of patents and for the rights of the individual in an economic market. This is critically important for economic activity and access across the globe. Techcrunch srsly should have been purchased by a democratic press company
Was posted on techdirt a little while ago
The patent office needs to rectify KSR vs Teleflex violating patents and take an extreme stance against obviousness and do what is good for the world and the people of the USA
techdirt and torrentfreak is the truth and the voice of the poor and the individual
Newsfeed of patent cases: http://www.rfcexpress.com/patent-lawsuits.asp
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Junk Patent Problem Yet Again
It is time for the patent system to transition to something voluntary. It should become a freely searchable repository of technical knowledge, organised as best the USPTO can manage. We will see how they manage, with their capacity to do harm greatly reduced.
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I don't live there but that's one crazy patent.
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lather
Don't get all worked in to a lather. If the defendants have anything near proof the patent is invalid all they need do is file for reexam and the PTO will most always grant. Keep in mind it costs patentees plenty to bring suit. If they truly thought their patent was invalid, they wouldn't risk the money. Have a beer and chill out.
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doswen
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