Slashdot Mirror
Worlds.com Patents Quake-like Games? Kinda.
Eddie Edwards writes "This story over at Gamasutra details how Worlds.com have been awarded US patent 6,219,045 for - well, for more-or-less exactly the client-server architecture used in Quake. As the article says, "the company believes the patent may apply to currently in-use multi-user games" (!) and Worlds.com "will also review other 3D sites who may be using [their] technology to ensure [they] are fully compensated". " Of course, Worlds.com will prolly get squashed on the prior art issue - but wow. From what I can see, IANAL, it's not so much Quake-like games, but more like 3D chat-game-type environment.
Perhaps they are doing us all a great service. Since their patent applies to 3-D graphics and true 3-D graphics don't really exist (as an earlier poster pointed out), by the time real 3-D displays (holographic, I assume) exist this patent will have expired thus opening the realm of 3-D gaming to all without the threat of patent infingement!!! We should send them a thank you letter.
Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
Not only that, but they're burning $10 million dollars a year. They might not be around very long.
I especially like this sentence from their April 17 2001 10KSB SEC form:
"Our auditors have expressed doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern."
Bwahahahahahahaaaa!
This explaines why their stock is currently trading at 9 cents.
Of course all this raises the spectre of someone else buying their 'IP' and persuing everyone under the sun, shaking them down for the 'cheap settlements out of court'...