New York-based holdings company Paltalk Holdings just can't stand seeing these damn MMO publishers making money off their technology. So they did the only sensible thing they could think of: sue the crap out of everyone.
If Paltalk sounds familiar, you may remember them from a 2006 case, in which the company faced off against Microsoft over multiplayer technology found in Halo games. That particular incident was settled out of court mid-trial. While Paltalk didn't exactly win, they didn't actually lose either. Now they're going after the MMO developers and publishers, having named Sony, NCSoft, Activision Blizzard, Turbine Studios, and Jagex Ltd. in this latest patent lawsuit.
So what's the issue this time? Paltalk is asserting that the multiplayer technology that allows players to interact in the same digital environments simultaneously is currently theirs, following their 2002 purchase of various related patents. Now these big shots are using that very same technology in their respective games, which Paltalk sees as an obvious violation.
The suit was filed in Marshall, Texas, where Paltalk's case against Microsoft was also being tried. As it turns out, most patent legal lawsuits start there because its courts are considered plaintiff-friendly.
Source:Ars Technica
Sections:Console Games, PC Games
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