Posts tagged uspto 
Microsoft files patent for device that enforces licenses through visual surveillance
Microsoft has filed a patent for a system that could potentially use a camera to determine whether you're breaking its content-viewing rules or not. US Patent Application 20120278904 describes the ability to use a Kinect-like camera-enabled device for "continuously monitoring a number of users at ...
Gaikai sued over alleged patent infringement
A Delaware company called T5 Labs has filed suit against cloud-gaming service Gaikai for alleged patent infringement, putting the technology that underpins Gaikai's fancy cloud-computing/game-streaming wizardry under the legal microscope. Specifically, T5 Labs claims that by "providing a system and ...
Namco trademark points to US release for JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
CyberConnect2's upcoming manga adaptation/fighting game JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle (not to be confused with Capcom's recently released JoJo's Bizarre Adventure HD on XBLA and PSN) may see the light of day on North American shores, should a recently filed trademark serve as any ...
Sony patents method of turning TV ads into interactive mini-games
Sony holds the patent for turning television commercials into interactive video games, taking humanity one step closer a future resembling Wall-E, while the likelihood of Blade Runner fades to a distant, neon second. The patent describes one method of gaming as advertisement as a "commercial ...
Bethesda trademarks 'Hearthfire,' which is totally a thing from Skryim
Update: Please excuse us, but we've written about this before. Like, back in May. Sorry about that, y'all! Nothing to see here! Move right along! When Skyrim's "Dawnguard" DLC was first outed by a trademark filing back in March, we knew little aside from the name – references to the Dawnguard ...
Sony abandons The Last Guardian trademark, can get it back
Sony has abandoned the trademark for The Last Guardian, a game first teased by Team Ico in 2008 that has since been notoriously absent during subsequent conventions, productions and shows. The last we heard of The Last Guardian was when it didn't make an appearance at E3 this year. During the show, ...
Sony trademarks 'Rain,' 'Until Dawn' in EU and US before Gamescom
Sony is either preparing a few unannounced IPs for the public eye, or it's really concerned about the weather at Gamescom next week. Sony has trademarked "Rain" and "Until Dawn" in the US and Europe, both as "computer game software." The above image was included with the Rain filing via OHIM, the ...
Kinect goes mobile, gets movie editing in Microsoft patent filings
For all Kinect does, it's got some pretty glaring flaws. For one, it's bound by that silly USB cable to the back of the Xbox 360. Good thinking, Microsoft! Thankfully, Microsoft also finds Kinect's tethered nature troubling, and is working on a mobile solution. The company filed a patent ...
Apple patents NFC tech for controlling gadgets with iThings
Apple has been issued a patent (this one) that outlines virtually every conceivable way in which an iProduct equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) could wirelessly interface and control a similarly NFC-equipped gadget, doodad or whatsit. Many examples are given in the documentation -- ...
Expiring trademarks suggest trouble for Brothers in Arms: Furious 4
Brothers in Arms: Furious 4 may be in trouble. Some lapsing trademarks for the its title intimate the Gearbox-developed game is all but abandoned (or the name is changing), and our inquiries into Gearbox Software have yet to be answered. "We don't have anything to share at this point in time," an ...
