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Sony Dismisses Claims Against Playstation Emulator

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the celebrate-good-times-com'on dept.

Gridle writes "According to this CNet article, Sony has voluntarily taken back the patent infringement case against Connectix, the makers of Virtual Game Station, a Playstation emulator for Macs and PCs. Here's the press release from Connectix."

7 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Slightly misleading article... by Chiasmus_ · · Score: 4

    Sony has voluntarily taken back the patent infringement

    The article at the link sure didn't read that way to me. It sounded like after losing seven out of their nine issues at court, Sony decided the cost of the lawsuit didn't justify the chance of winning. After all, their executives refused to comment; if they had been doing this out of a sense of "right", naturally they would have hyped it up into a big PR thing.

    In conclusion, Sony remains evil, but at least the forces of evil have been held at bay... for now.

    --
    "Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he deems himself your master."
    1. Re:Slightly misleading article... by Danse · · Score: 4

      And who held the "forces of evil" at bay? Certainly not Connectix, or the Federal Courts - Sony *chose* to drop the case. So who, praytell, stopped the Evil Sony in its tracks?

      Seems like the court did have a lot to do with it. The judge threw out most of Sony's case. So, Sony *chose* to drop the case because they'd already lost most of it and they realized they weren't likely to get anything out of it anymore, so it didn't make sense for them to keep fighting it to the bitter end. That just costs more money.

      They will apparently be pursuing a separate patent-infringement case though. And Connectix is, of course, trying to have that one tossed out as well. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

      Why is Sony evil? Because they want to protect the market for a product they make? Because they want to make sure people aren't ripping off products they own?

      It depends on their reasons for suing. If they truly believe that what Connectix has done violates the law, then they're probably right to sue. If they're doing it just to cause problems for Connectix, then they're evil. It seems that with 7 of the 9 allegations being tossed right out, they probably didn't have much of a case.

      --
      It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
    2. Re:Slightly misleading article... by ContinuousPark · · Score: 4

      In conclusion, Sony remains evil, but at least the forces of evil have been held at bay... for now.

      Not anymore. According to this C|Net piece: "Sony said today that it has refiled a suit against Connectix alleging that the company's software that allows PCs to run games developed for the PlayStation violates Sony patents. A Sony representative said the company dismissed its lawsuit a day before a hearing in the case on the judge's advice to avoid "procedural issues that may have been appealable.""
      So, Sony it's at it again. We have to restart this whole /. thread with a twist.

      --


      "All the things one has forgotten scream for help in dreams". Elias Canetti
  2. More details from Connectix CEO by isaac_akira · · Score: 5

    Short interview with Connectix CEO

    He mentions that a key point is that the technique of reverse engineering was completely cleared, opening the door to creating PS2, Dreamcast, and even X-Box emulators in the future (once PC hardware speeds are capable of it).

    - Isaac =)

  3. Re:Hmm.. by gilroy · · Score: 5
    Blockquoth the poster:
    People, that's theft of intellectual property -- that's the same stuff that Microsoft is getting in trouble with the DOJ.
    Um, no, that's "reverse engineering" -- a widely accepted practice. If Connectix had actually stolen patents, that would be "theft" of intellectual "property" (*), but of course, the point of the lawsuit would be to establish such infringement. No lawsuit, no establishment.

    As for the MS/DOJ thing, it is not about patent infringement or IP. It is about predatory monopolistic practics at MS.

    Also blockquoth the poster:

    If I make a product, patent and trademark it, and someone comes along and makes a product that does in essence, the same thing my product does, causing me to lose sales, I'm going to sue for patent infringement.
    A patent does not guarantee the right to make a profit from an invention. It does not guarantee the right to an exclusive market due to an invention. It does not prohibit others from fulfilling the same need you've chosen to address via the device patentned.

    A patent does prevent someone else from implementing a solution in exactly the same way you do. In other words, I can't simply duplicate McCormick's reaper, but I sure as heck can come up with my own device for harvesting grain. It is not the concept of rotary blades that is patented; it's the particular form that is protected.

    Admittedly, the federal courts and the PTO have really murked the waters by allowing software and "business model" patents (egregiously wrongly, IMHO). But even they don't say "MS patented Word, so no one else can make word processors" -- even ones that read Word files.

    --- (*) Intellectual "property" is to property as fool's "gold" is to gold... It can't be "stolen", although one's rights vis-a-vis it can be infringed. Current usage is a deliberate obfuscation to play on the connotations of "theft".

    --
    The Mongrel Dogs Who Teach
  4. Sony playing dirty legal games? by MattW · · Score: 4

    Notice from the press release, they note "We recognize Sony may still attempt to bring these claims back before the court at a later date..."

    Also note this occured 1 day before they were set to present their motion to dismiss (they being connectix). To me, it sounds like Sony is suing, causing trouble, then dropping the case before there's a chance for resolution. In other words, they're grinding on them without ever allowing the court to actually settle the issue, costing Connectix money and making people question the viability of the product, just using money on lawyers to make trouble. Maybe connectix should have had the right to seek a summary judgement on the matter to prevent such abuse. (or at least a right to continue a day and have their motion heard)

  5. Pros and Cons for Sony by Toddarooski · · Score: 5

    The way I see it, a PlayStation emulator isn't all that harmful to Sony -- after all, as lots of people are quick to point out, Sony doesn't make any money selling their hardware. Often, they'll sell it for a loss and make their money on royalties for their games. (They get a pretty hefty chunk of change on every PSX game sold.) If they can make money selling games without having to take a loss on the hardware, they'll probably be pretty happy.

    The biggest drawback for Sony that I can see is that a game running on the Sony emulator (in my experience anyway) isn't as good as when it runs on normal PSX hardware. I suppose that someone who had never seen a PlayStation before and tried playing Soul Blade on their Bleem emulator might think, "Boy, Playstation games aren't all that good."

    Another more dangerous (but perhaps less likely) potential problem is the fact that maybe these console companies could steal each other's publishing deals. Suppose to make Tunnel Raider V for the PSX, it'll cost me $5/game in royalties for Sony. Suppose Sega offers me a better deal -- say, $3/game -- to make the "Dreamcast Bleem Emulator" version of the game (which, totally by coincidence, happens to run on the Playstation as well). That could really screw over Sony. I don't think it's a particularly likely scenario, but it's possible...

    Of course, most of this is a moot point now that most people are looking forward to the PSX2, which is probably the real reason why Sony isn't continuing their legal battle.

    --

    "Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!"