Paltalk, which recently settled a patent infringement tussle with Microsoft, has launched a new lawsuit against Turbine, Sony and other MMOG makers over their alleged infringement of the same technology.
Paltalk has filed suit against the makers of several popular MMOGs currently on the market, claiming the data-sharing technology employed in their games violates patents it purchased from the defunct company HearMe in 2002. Along with Sony and Turbine, the suit names Activision Blizzard, NCsoft and Jagex as defendants. As it did in the case against Microsoft, the New York-based company filed the action in the eastern district of Texas, described by Christopher Donnelly of the law firm Donnelly Conroy & Gelhaar LLP as a “plaintiff-friendly jurisdiction.”
The situation for the defendants is complicated by the fact that Microsoft chose to settle with Paltalk when the case came to court in March this year. Details of the settlement weren’t made public but as Donnelly noted, it not only gives Paltalk “crowing rights” but also means that Microsoft acknowledged the validity of Paltalk’s claims, which will make it difficult for the companies named in the new suit to deny them.
Paltalk’s specific demands haven’t been made public but according to Mass High Tech the company claims it has suffered damages in “at least the tens of millions of dollars.” In its lawsuit against Microsoft, Paltalk asked for $90 million.
Source: Boston Globe
Published: Sep 16, 2009 04:35 pm