Pillsbury is a proud sponsor of and contributor to the upcoming Gamification Summit on January 20 and 21 in San Francisco. Day 1 includes a Conference that will feature top thought leaders in game mechanics such as Gabe Zichermann (author, Game-Based Marketing), Amy Jo Kim (Gamification guru), Jane McGonigal* (TED…
Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony and Valve have been sued for patent infringement over two patents relating to purchasing products relating to games. The suit, filed by Olympic Developments AG, LLC, involves US Patents 5,475, 585 (“Transactional Processing System”) and 6,246,400 (“Device for Controlling Remote Interactive Receiver”). The ‘585 patent was issued…
Our Virtual Worlds & Social Media team is leading the way in understanding and addressing legal issues for a number of cutting-edge interactive and immersive technologies, including augmented reality. Some of our team members recently outlined IP, privacy and liability issues in a Q&A on Augmented Planet, a popular news…
Microsoft recently agreed to buy Canesta, which makes gesture control technology. This appears to be part of a roll up strategy by Microsoft having purchased 3DV Systems and licenses from GestureTek and PrimeSense. A recent article in Venture Beat speculates that Microsoft may be close to having ownership of or…
Everglades Interactive, LLC has filed a patent litigation against a number of social game companies for alleged infringement of USP 6,656,050. The patent is entitled “Odds Accelerator for Promotional Type Sweepstakes, Games, and Contests.” A sample claim of the patent is as follows: A method enabling at least one player…
There has been much buzz about Zynga’s attempt to patent virtual currency. As is often the case with patents, there is much hype, many misconceptions and little focus on the actual facts. Here are the facts. 1. Zynga does not have a patent on virtual currency. It has applied for…
Apple recently announced a hockey-puck-size AppleTV device. Early adopters seem to love the video-management and TV program and movie download features. But what may be even more important in the future is a feature called AirPlay.This feature essentially turns the AppleTV into a gaming console that can compete with the…
EA has defeated Edge Games’ attempt to broadly assert rights in the word “EDGE” in connection with video games. Edge sued Electronic Arts for trademark infringement, alleging that EA’s use of “MIRROR’S EDGE” for video games infringed its trademark rights. EA countered that Dr. Langdell and Edge committed fraud on…
In a very significant decision, the 9th circuit Court of Appeals ruled that software developers can legally prevent customers from owning the copies of software that they pay for. Instead, if the software license agreement is properly drafted, the software developer retains ownership in the copies they distribute and the…
Target’s recent launch of a program to sell gift cards redeemable for Facebook Credits or in the virtual world Poptropica towards either membership fees or the purchase of virtual currency further blurs the line (to the extent there still was one) between in-worldcurrency and real-world currency. Facebook and Zynga agreed earlier…