Video Game Law Review for April 5th 2006
Welcome to the Video Game Law Review. This is a feature of Fragmintz of Video Game Law and Other IP Issues where we collect various headlines and captions via RSS feed for the interactive entertainment law industry.
- Microsoft Sued by Lucent Over Xbox 360 Decoding (April 5th 2006) - An old fued between the two tech producers has been reignited. Lucent filed suit against Microsoft in U.S. District Court in San Diego. The complaint alleges breach of Patent No. 5,227,878, which referes to Adaptive Coding and Decoding of Frames and Fields of Video. Lucent maintains that Microsoft infringed on their IP by using this technology in the XBox 360 console. Read more.
- Capcom Fraud Investigation (April 4th 2006) - The maker of hits such as the Resident Evil Series and Street Fighter games is under criminal investigation by Osaka's tax Bureau. The company failed to report 5.12 billion yen ($44 million) over the past six years. Read more.
- Netflix Sues Blockbuster for Patent Infringement (April 5th 2006) - mail order service Netflix filed suit in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against retail-rental giant Blockbuster. It seeks an injunction to stop Blockbuster's use of online wish lists that prioritize DVD selections of the subscribers. In addition, Netflix argues that the online option of renting a DVD for an unlimited time without incurring late fees is also covered by the patent. Read more.
- Chart Data Falsification Finger Pointing Draws Lawsuit (April 4th 2006) - Mercury Games' Leo Zullo says that his current firm is being "persecuted" by two individuals who allege that they are owed money by Digital Jesters (Zullo's firm that went into liquidation last year). Zullo claims that the unnamed individuals involved are exploiting a mistake made on the website of his current company in reporting erroneous data regarding Ubisoft-published titles.
- Georgia Offers Tax Breaks to Developers (April 5th 2006) - In a move to spur digital pilgrimage to Georgia, legislators have provided economic incentives to the gaming world. "We see interactive entertainment as a vital element in the entertainment industry as a whole. Since Georgia has colleges and universities dedicated to cutting-edge technology sitting alongside mainstays in the broadcast industry, this tax incentive seems an ideal way to highlight the fact that Georgia can be an incubator for new and exciting entertainment technology. All the resources are here. Now, we help publishers afford it." Read more.
- Harvard Study Prompts Video Game Ratings Board Response (April 5th 2006) - a Harvard study published yesterday criticized the ESRB for inconsistent application of M-rated game content descriptors. ESRB quickly responded questioning the objectivity of the results. Read more.
posted by Mike | 12:13 PM
2 Comments:
Mercury Games never did follow up on their threats - probably because they knew that they dare not risk the true ownership of their business being exposed in the UK Courts. Rakesh Gandhi, Terry Malham and Leo Zullo have systematically "taken" assets from their other shareholders, employees, creditors and associates in Digital Jesters (the same company, with a different name) and moved them into Mercury Games. They have been caught lying again and again - the $5m investment from Myriad Interactive was a lie, the appointment of Marco Landi was a lie, 5 new products in 2006 was a lie, chart falsification was a lie, saying they were members of ELSPA months before they were approved was a lie. When will the market wake up to how these people behave? They infringe the names of two N.American companies(Myriad Interactive, Mercury) and of an Australian games company (Mercury Games). For a laugh, you can trace their "shadow" group of companies through the UK, Hong Kong and all the way to Samoa ... where the ownership (Rakesh Gandhi and associates) is hidden. The law sits back and watches while they make off with the money. You have to laugh.
LOL - in the "Review" posts, I just post the news. Thanks for commenting!
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