Turbine sued over patent infringement
Developer accused, along with Sony and Activision Blizzard, of violating technology patent
Turbine has been accused of patent infringement in the creation of its Dungeons & Dragons Online and Lord of the Rings Online titles, by the same company that has already successfully sued Microsoft over an identical breach.
Paltalk Holdings succeeded in negotiating an out-of-court settlement with Microsoft in 2006, when it sued the software giant for infringing its patent for the development of the Halo games.
It now has its sights fixed on Turbine, reports The Boston Globe, and has filed a complaint with the US District Court in Marshall, Texas that accuses the developer of breaching a technology patent it owns which covers the sharing of data among connected computers. This patent is apparently for technology used in multiplayer online games, which enables every player in a game to see an identical digital playing field.
The figure paid to Paltalk by Microsoft for use of its patent is an undisclosed one, but experts say this prior victory will make it tougher for Turbine to challenge the patent's validity.
As well as Turbine, several other online game creators are also targeted by the lawsuit. Sony of Japan, Activision Blizzard, NCsoft, and Jagex are all accused by the company of similar infringements.