By: Joanne Carew
Source: http://www.itweb.co.za
Category: Patent infringement
Over the weekend, Minecraft game developer Markus Persson, who is also known by the moniker “notch”, had an interesting wake-up call, Red Orbit reports.
He tweeted the event. “Step 1: Wake up. Step 2: Check email. Step 3: See we're being sued for patent infringement. Step 4: Smile.”
DRM tech firm Uniloc is suing Minecraft's parent company, Mojang, as reported by the blog Boing Boing.
Mojang is actually among a group of 10 game developers, which also includes Electronic Arts, Polarbit, Distinctive Developments, Laminar Research, Gameloft, Halfbrick Studios, Madfinger Games, Square Enix and Full Fat Productions.
Lawsuits were filed on Friday before a court in Tyler, Texas, by Uniloc Luxembourg. The suit claims that US Patent No. 6 857 067, which Uniloc holds, is being infringed upon. The patent Uniloc filed in 2001 and was awarded in 2005 is described as a system for “preventing unauthorised access to electronic data...” The technology involves communication between a portable device and a licence registration. Essentially, the patent is over software and protocols that check that a person loading a game has the right to play the game. If the player is not a registered, licensed user, he will be locked out of the game.
Venture Beat states Persson seemed undeterred and confidently tweeted: “If needed, I'll throw piles of money at making sure Uniloc doesn't get a cent.”
He later posted an official blog entry expressing distaste for software patents and safeguarding ideas, saying: “There's no way in hell you can convince me it's beneficial for society not to share ideas. Ideas are free. They improve on old things, make them better, and this results in all of society being better. Sharing ideas is how we improve.”
The suit, filed on 20 July by Uniloc, specifically cites the Android version of Minecraft, called Minecraft Pocket Edition, as infringing on a Uniloc-owned patent involving applications “requiring communication with a server to perform a licence check to prevent the unauthorised use of said application, including, but not limited to, Mindcraft [sic]”.
According to Gaming Bus. Uniloc is a company that is infamous for having sued Microsoft back in 2003 in the federal court district of Rhode Island, only to finally settle for an undisclosed amount after an eight-year-long suit.
Initially, it won the suit in 2009 with a jury ruling that allocated it $388 million. However, five months later, a judge vacated the ruling, stating the jury “lacked a grasp of the issues before it and reached a finding without a legally sufficient basis,” instead ruling in favour of Microsoft.
Source: http://www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=57109:mojang-sued-for-patent-infringement
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