Worlds.com Files Suit Against NCsoft - Every Other MMO Company To Follow?

gw2 never existed



In order for something to be patentable it must be non-obvious - the process of breathing is quite obvious. At the time of Worlds.com's application for the patent (2000), the idea of a bunch of geeks getting together, hiding behind avatars and playing video games together was not so obvious.


(Surely the idea of a multiplayer online game existed - however, the key word here is MASSIVELY; was it obvious in the year 2000 that video games would involve eleven million players?)

You want to challenge every MMO on the market, plus any that may be in development?

Good luck with that.

Watch Bill Gates hire a boat load of lawyers to fight this lawsuit!

Islands of Kesmai went live 1984....Im pretty darn sure it used the client based system. I dont see how an mmo could exist that didnt. That pretty much invalidates Wold's claim on the patent right there

"Worlds leverages its patented proprietary technology in partnership with brand leaders in specific market segments to offer users multi-user environments that have interactive Avatars, rich media graphics, text chat, voice-to-voice chat, video and e-commerce."
-http://www.worlds.com/about.html


um, i think they patented the internet. /facepalm

Microsoft doesn't need lawyers, they hire ninjas!

This a shakedown, pure and simple. They chose GW first because they don't have the deep pockets WOW has to defend the suit as well. If they can get a precedent from a weaker MMO then they will go after the bigguns. That being said, all GW has to prove is the technology is markebly different or that the patent creates an unfair monopoly from what is common knowledge. Worlds may have had a patent pending, but they never tried to enforce it prior to now and that will kill the patent outright on appeal.

if they sued and pulled it off, would they not technically be breaking every games EULA by getting real money for ingame items? :P

They pretty much already did when they went to NC. Would be silly for other companies to just sit by and watch. If NC loses then it would make it even easier to do it to the others.

Basicly worlds.com delcared war against every and all MMO companies.

Oh and still they weren't anywhere near the frist.

source We all know how much courts like using the wiki

Neverwinter Nights started in like 1990 way before them. Its just a losing a company who I bet is about ready to fall under trying to make a easy buck.

Two words: "settlement" and "licensing."

*shrug* Yeah, I am a lawyer in real life.

why settle when nc soft can drag that silly company under?

but ultima online came out in 97 and everquest came out in 99????



oh and isnt gw -not- an mmo, and therefore safe from this patent? lawl

issued last year...
games out previously...
monopoly on online gaming? i don't think so.

Interesting on how they are filing a lawsuit over linage (came out in '97) when their patent starts in 2000.

Exactly what I was thinking.

This challenges like every single game ever made.

Time for Blizzard to take out the ninjas...

Economics. I don't know the facts well enough to speculate about the details. As a general matter, the best long-term outcome for the plaintiff is if it can get an economic return on its patented product, usually in the form of a licensing agreement of some kind. In other words, GW, WoW, and all the other games keep going, but all those game companies pay some % to the plaintiff patent holder. Since the plaintiff appears to be claiming that their product has already been used by other companies for years, I would guess the plaintiff is going to want some compensation for that past use as well as an agreement to payment in the future. Will they get it? I have no idea. But in many cases there is an economic balancing point where it becomes cheaper to settle - assuming an agreement can be reached - rather than to continue a lawsuit, especially if the plaintiff's case has enough merit that the defendant might lose outright.

What a joke. Worlds.com is a failure, they should give up while they still can.

Okay, I know what will happen.

1. Worlds.com loses in court.
2. NCSoft sues it for slander.
3. NCSoft wins.
4. NCSoft releases Guild... I mean Aion 6 months earlier and we all live happier.

They aren't gonna shut down WoW, Blizzard isn't exactly your push-over company, you know?( But it'd be cool to see 11million getting pissed off for shutting down WoW)

Also, if the patent covers ALL mmos, why did Worlds started by suing NCsoft, but not companies like Sony or Blizzard? Because it doesn't want to bite off more than it can chew. Some companies are simply too big for Worlds to swallow right now, it needs a foot hold for the "main offensive" that is to come later.(if Worlds wins this suit) But there would be no clear winner in this suit, as with suits between "large" companies.(money would be spend, of course, the whole suit thing originated because Worlds want $$ during this economic recession. The violation of its patent is merely a nice excuse for collecting its $$. Worlds is literally saying to NCsoft : "hey, we need $$, and guess what, since you violated our patent, we are gonna drink off your blood first!")

Desperate times call for Desperate measures (Hamlet IV.iii)