Microsoft has been sued a lot. It happens. This one could end up costing them a decent chunk of change, however. In 1994, Peter Hochstein and Jeffrey Tenenbaum were granted a patent for "communicating live while playing the same video game in separate locations." The two sued Microsoft in 2004, claiming that Xbox Live infringes on their patent.
Microsoft's defense appears to hinge upon the claim that Xbox Live operates outside of the actual video game. Furthermore, Kotaku notes that the company has resorted to cheap tricks, including holding up the trial for weeks over a type and providing 140,000 documents on the plaintiffs without any index.
Sony was also sued by Hochstein and Tenenbaum over the PS2's network, but Sony settled the case for an undisclosed amount of money. Seems like the reverse of the lawsuit over rumble in controllers. In that case, Microsoft settled and licensed the tech to include rumble on the Xbox 360. Sony was the one that dragged the process out, finally releasing the DualShock 3 after settling the case.
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TurnerJoy
The patent office is to blame for this. How is "talking while playing a video game" a unique or novel idea? If it was a particular method I could understand but this one is silly.
codered1212
didnt nintendo sue both microsoft and sony for vibrations in controllers or something like that? i dunno what it was exactly but it had something to do with controllers
ViolinistHDL
they just want money, they can not patent, "talking while playing a game"
ImpurestCrowd
Now with any LUCK MS will get sued for billions and be forced to abandon Xbox live.
Raverenz51
Sueing over Talking while playing video games, wow Im surprised Tim Berners-Lee doesn't sue every time somebody uses the internet......retarded
BogusGnarly
Communicating live while playing the same game? That would include typing with other ppl in an MMO ala WoW, would it not? I've been reading through the patent and it doesn't necessarily say "voice". And doesn't each video game developer setup how voice is used during the game, not Microsoft? Ventrilo would be up next I assume, as well as two people playing a flash game over the internet while talking on a digital phone to each other that uses the same modem for phone and internet.
I absolutely agree with TurnerJoy's post. Also, I played Doom through a modem with my friend in 1993 and could type to him while we played. How can you patent something someone else already did?
BogusGnarly
Communicating live while playing the same game? That would include typing with other ppl in an MMO ala WoW, would it not? I've been reading through the patent and it doesn't necessarily say "voice". And doesn't each video game developer setup how voice is used during the game, not Microsoft? Ventrilo would be up next I assume. Also, I played Doom through a modem with my friend in 1993 and could type to him while we played. How can you patent something someone else already did?
BogusGnarly
sorry for double post while editing...
kkotd
Sounds like it's about time to get rid of Patents all-together... Sure it was great when you had one mastermind a generation but when you have over 100,000 of them all thinking the same thing at the same time... Oy... Just think if the lightgun had tried patenting all motion controllers. The Wii and now all these rip-offs from Sony and Msoft would be sued for making their own innovation of it...
slimmer
Lawyers making big fat cash like usual.
Mechutu
Wouldn't they have to provide an exact technology showing how they "talk while playing videogames"? Otherwise someone could just say "I'm going to patent the idea of videogames".
Beleabub
I've resorted to trickery to get out of a speeding tick more than one time!!
Beleabub
I've resorted to legal trickery to get out of speeding tickets!!
DEAThHEART
I'm just gonna shut up on this on. I'm tired of this... and i'm not talking about microsoft being (maybe they deserve that)
DEAThHEART
I'm just gonna shut up on this on. I'm tired of this... and i'm not talking about microsoft being (maybe they deserve that)
unfungames
how the hell can they patent something that people were already doing? People were playing text based MUDs long before 1994
crocodilius
I wish I lived in the USA sometimes.
Then I could sue whomever I wanted for no distinguishable reason and be rich.
Like back around 1996-98, i wrote a letter as part of class project to THQ and somewhere in the letter I suggested their next Smackdown! project be named "Know Your Roll" because I loved The Rock. Guess what happened? (I also never got a reply to the letter)
crocodilius
I wish I lived in the USA sometimes. Then I could sue whomever I wanted for no distinguishable reason and be rich. Like back around 1996, i wrote a letter as part of class project to THQ and somewhere in the letter I suggested their next Smackdown! project be named "Know Your Roll" because I loved The Rock. Guess what happened? (I also never got a reply to the letter)#2
stoner369
so whats next Vent, Teamspeak? out of the three leading systems microsoft seems to be on top of their game. with success comes greed and i guess everyone one their piece of the pie. X-box live has been around how long now?
shadpreston
Does anyone else see the irony in the author misspelling the word "typo" ?
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