Breaking News: UO Conquers After All Other MMO's Sued Out of Existence!

[Cogniac]

http://www.virtualworldsnews.com/2008/12/worldscom-files-suit-against-ncsoft.html

http://www.google.com/patents?id=wv5-AAAAEBAJ&dq=7,181,690

In short: Worlds.com holds a patent for scalable 3D virtual worlds and has begun suing all the big MMO-controlling corporations. UO is not 3D. Thus, UO wins the Internets.

...Well, maybe not. But amusing, nonetheless.

P.S. If a mod feels like moving this thread to UHall OT, be my guest. I felt it could have gone in either forum.

 

[Maplestone]

US patent system is fundementally broken - its become a way to shake people down for money rather than a way to encourage invention.

Ah well, I've never invented anything worthwhile.

 

[Stupid Miner]

Wonder what would happen if they actually did sue the games out of existence... millions of people who play those games very, very angry...

not to forget slightly crazed MMO addicts.

i don't think that could end well...

 

[Lord Drakelord]

P.S. If a mod feels like moving this thread to UHall OT, be my guest. I felt it could have gone in either forum.

Thanks for posting it here as I never really read the OT Hall.

 

[GalenKnighthawke]

This would be an amusing result, if UO was left standing by default.

Of course, wouldn't that mean DAoC and WHO would be dead too? Anyone want to lay odds that EA keeps us around if DAoC and WHO were dead? I think Mark Jacobs would kill us out of bitter spite!

WoW at least would be able to throw enough money to shut them up. I wouldn't lay odds on some of the other ones, though.

I'll have to check the article at some point. This stuff is interesting. Anyone remember the bizarre lawsuit over the JPEG format some years back?

-Galen's player

 

[CassieDarksong]

The lawsuit is flawed, to be perfectly honest. Should have taken a different direction on it. Oh well.

 

[Demonous]

Wonder what would happen if they actually did sue the games out of existence... millions of people who play those games very, very angry...

not to forget slightly crazed MMO addicts.

i don't think that could end well...

i wish WOW was forced to close down... then i could tell my friends that all quit uo years ago for wow that they made a wrong decision and laugh at them

 

[Blesh]

i wish WOW was forced to close down... then i could tell my friends that all quit uo years ago for wow that they made a wrong decision and laugh at them

Real customer support and real game content isn't a mistake. lol


Sorry I normally keep my mouth shut when it comes to wow, but for some reason I couldn't help myself.

 

[Traveller]

US patent system

Guys, the operative words of this issue are those I quoted above. More specifically the "US" part. There are 3D MMOs whose legal residence is NOT in the US, you know...

 

[Zyon Rockler]

This might be the best time for EA to focus on UO and add as many additions as possible and get it legally squared so they can ultimately corner the market. In some terms law can be disputed but as UO is the oldest, I think they would have a good chance to show that they were the pioneers and rightful owners to those ideas.

This is all alittle mind boggling though considering how the world looks at internet as far as law goes. If someone were to try to take the rights of the players away it could be revolutionary and is indeed fascinating.

As far as WoW goes, I thought they stole the idea from Age of Empires, Orcs vs. Humans, you would gather wood, build huts, etc... then the next thing you know the game dramaticly changes into what UO is with different graphics and a new name. This has always bothered me because of how many friends I have lost to WoW.

Maybe some day people will wake up and stop feeding to the problems that already exist into this world and make a stand for what is right.

It's ashame because yet again these laws will definately cause set backs in the future of online gaming.

 

[Maplestone]

Don't get too excited - nothing is going to change because of this - the company suing will want an out-of-court settlement, essentially "protection money" against their patent portfolio. Either they will make some lawyers rich burning out or their targets will sigh and pay them off. The whole thing is just using the legal system as a way of extorting a little money.

(software patents are a curious US idea that most of the world doesn't buy into)

 

[Borric]

Anyone remember the bizarre lawsuit over the JPEG format some years back?

-Galen's player

I remember .gifs and compuserve, not anything about jpegs.

 

[Ender]

Real customer support and real game content isn't a mistake. lol


Sorry I normally keep my mouth shut when it comes to wow, but for some reason I couldn't help myself.

Truth hurts.

 

[Wenchkin]

"Oh Jimmy! Look! Are those the three wise men bearing gifts?"

"Nah, just some ambitious lawyers.... Hide the cake and sherry honey, they've brought patents."

What a gift to get for Christmas lol.

Wenchy

 

[GarthGrey]

Don't get too excited - nothing is going to change because of this - the company suing will want an out-of-court settlement, essentially "protection money" against their patent portfolio. Either they will make some lawyers rich burning out or their targets will sigh and pay them off. The whole thing is just using the legal system as a way of extorting a little money.

(software patents are a curious US idea that most of the world doesn't buy into)

Yeah, and then there's that whole curious "toilet paper and running water" thing too that we do that other countries don't like.

Not to turn this into a political rant that gets it moved, but I get tired of hearing people make any snide comments about the US. When you come here, you don't have to worry about getting kidnapped for ransom, or beheaded, or dying from drinking water. I could go on and on...

 

[Maplestone]

um ... that wasn't a snide remark, just an observation that most of the rest of the world has gone a different (and I think better) direction with their legal system when it comes to patents.

I can do snide, but I'd rather not - I rather like most Americans. I will concede the running water though - I do feel nostalgic remembering using the hand pump on a well - water tasted better when we had to work for it.

 

[Sam the Scribe]

The lawsuit is flawed, to be perfectly honest. Should have taken a different direction on it. Oh well.

I never understood how Patents became applicable to concepts. I always thought they were meant to cover actual working devices. I guess at some point they were expanded.

I would figure that copyright law should be applied to software... prove you actually wrote code to do what you are saying everyone else stole... and prove they stole your code to do it.

Guess that isn't how it works... case-in-point NTP vs. RIM.

Ya know, when I was a kid I liked to draw pictures of fighter-jets in class. It beat listening to the teachers. One of my jets had "thrust condensers" at the exhaust. I had never seen an F-15 or any modern fighter jet when I drew that picture but that concept is actually used in those aircraft... If I had only drawn the picture 10 yrs earlier, and sent it to the patent office along with the fee... I'd own 50% of Grumman Aviation today.

The moral of the story for today's kids... flood the patent office with all your kooky ideas and if someone actually puts the sweat and blood into making it work... hire a lawyer and bankrupt them.

Safe Travels, Sam

 

[Amren]

I'm pretty sure Meridian 59 (created by 3DO) beat everyone to a 3d gaming world as to what was at that time considered "massivly-multiplayer"

 

[Arrgh]

Don't get too excited - nothing is going to change because of this - the company suing will want an out-of-court settlement, essentially "protection money" against their patent portfolio. Either they will make some lawyers rich burning out or their targets will sigh and pay them off. The whole thing is just using the legal system as a way of extorting a little money.

(software patents are a curious US idea that most of the world doesn't buy into)

I agree. Just like a certain couple of companies in the US that are tampering with the DNA of seeds like corn, wheat and the likes. They patent the DNA information then check surrounding farm areas to see if their "product" has cross-pollinated with neighboring farms, if so they then seize the fields that are cross-pollinated using patent infringements as an excuse to bankrupt and send some unfortunate farmer out onto the streets.

It's sad to see other lazy, greedy people using similar means from the Apple iPhone browser to this topic, no telling what's next. Something really needs to be done about manipulating the system like this.

 

[DanTheMan19]

People/Companies sue over anything sheesh.

 

[Bara]

This is pathetic. A creative medium should never be copywritten.

It is as if someone copyrighted 'books" and then proceded to sue every literary publisher in America.

Personally, I hope this whole thing backfires in their faces. Big time.

 

[Haddy G]

You all need to read the actual complaint. This has nothing to due with graphics. UO could be sued same as the rest, depending on what System and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space their talking about.

 

[Cogniac]

An amusing take on on the drama: http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/1/2/

(Beware: If you are easily offended and/or enjoy pretending to be offended at everything in order to get other people in trouble because you enjoy the false feeling of power it gives you due to a lack of validation in your life, then don't go to that link, because it contains a curse word. You have been warned.)