tortking

@pmiddy What he said. It's nice to see you again, pmiddy. Let's start a lawfirm: Pmiddy and Wealthofinsight, Joystiq attorneys at law.

@pmiddy Hi there patent attorney! Good point about laches--delay is not entirely irrelevant. But isn't laches an affirmative defense, requiring the asserter (here Activision and Zynga) to admit to infringement? Also, the asserter has the burden of proof (preponderance?)--not a presumption, right? So yes, it is not entirely relevant, but relying on laches alone is not advisable.

See kids! Lawyers are cool too!

@Styli Agreed. It is an open question, as always, whether this method was around before the critical date. And patent attorneys on both sides will be paid well to argue for and against.

@Bewoulf If his company has the right to exclude WOW from using the claimed method, wouldn't his company have had greater market share? Whatever portion of marketshare WoW has because of using the claimed method can be calculated as damages. (Just ask every other MMO developer how much WoW's immense marketshare hurts them.) Oh, and there is no duty to practice in the U.S. That means that the patent holder need not make anything before suing on a patent.

@pitseleh0 One more correction then I will shut up: Your description of continuation and divisional applications lacks an important detail. The claims in the later application must be supported by the earlier filing.

For example, suppose I file an application in 2000 describing my newly invented game. In 2002 a competitor comes out with a game that I want my patent to cover. Sounds wrong? Sounds underhanded? I can file a continuation and write new claims, and--I can even have my competitor's 2002 game in front of me while I do it--but the new claims must be supported by what I filed in 2000. That means that I must have described the competitor's 2002 game in my 2000 filing with sufficient detail to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the game without undue experimentation. If I have done that, I deserve to write claims to protect my invention.

I am a patent attorney IRL.

@pitseleh0 There is no duty to file a patent infringement suit. Patents expire 20 years from filing, and the patent holder can sue at any time until the patent expires. BigE4284 mentioned prejudice and delay; neither has any bearing.

As a patent attorney, let me just say "everyone gotsta chill." This may be a valid suit. BigE4284 is on the right track--you have to read the whole claim, not just the preamble, and the key question is what was around prior to January 24, 2000 (I haven't verified this date--just going by BigE's post).

Joystiq's usual manner of responsible journalism must have slipped this time. The merit of the suit cannot be judged by a quick read of a part of the claim. Also, the "intent" of the independent claim is not necessarily determined by the dependent claims. The independent claim is interpreted almost completely separate from the dependent claims.

/soapbox

Just pre-ordered it. TF2 is boss, so I wonder if I will be constantly comparing the two, or if MNC will be different enough and interesting enough to play (and not just after I hit my weekly item drop cap in TF2).

Bonk!

seewhatIdidthere?

Bacon donut. It's a real thing, made by a donut shop in Portland OR. It is a maple bar with two strips of bacon on top. It's amazing.