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Palm Sued Over Multiplayer PDA Games Patent

Posted by timothy on from the shame-is-free-but-rare dept.

Dr. Manhattan writes "Palm, along with several other companies, are being sued by Peer-to-Peer Systems LLC pursuant to patent 5,618,045. Seems that "an interactive multiple player game system including at least two playing devices communicating over an ad-hoc, wireless, all-to-all broadcast network" is not 'obvious.' Dang, I was planning on writing one..."

15 comments

  1. Hmmm.... by Soul-Burn666 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    April's Fool is.... tmrw.

    Dang it... this is real.

    slashdot::rant.print();

    --
    ^_^
  2. Fix up the patent system by trajano · · Score: 1

    Someone should really fix up the patent system so it does not stifle competition like it is doing now, but at the same time protect inventors.

    Perhaps modify the way patents are evaluated. How about limitting it to one year max (or less) for non-physical patents.

    Or even better, 6 month max before they have to allow open source implementations to come out uncontested. Then perhaps it would be fair increase it to two years max (or less) for non-physical patents.

    Vote Trajano! :-)

    --
    Archie - CIO-for-hire :-)
  3. Hmmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Has anyone ever played chess or another game via radio, audio communications or other wireless method.

    Do we now have to pay royalties to play 20 questions on a long road trip?

    Are all non wired communications for the purpose of gaming going to be illegal.

    1. Re:Hmmm by FirstManOnMoon · · Score: 1

      It looks like you need a processor as well as software to synchronize the activity of the two machines. Plus it has to be broadcast based, not unicast.

      So if you play chess on a physical board via shortwave radio with another person you are fine. Likewise, you can play chess on two handhelds over a shortwave radio, as long as there isn't any software that automaticly synchronizes things. ie: each person would have to manually input the opponents moves.

      Based on the vague patent, it looks like having a LAN party using wireless could be a patent violation depending on the game (the game would have to send and receive information via broadcasts and not unicasts.)

    2. Re:Hmmm by GrassyKnowl · · Score: 0

      A chess gamed played over Packet Radio would invalidate this patent due to prior art. Does anyone know of a chess game implemented over packet radio prior to 1995.

    3. Re:Hmmm by GrassyKnowl · · Score: 0

      On the following site: http://www.pdsl.com/cats/hamradio.txt A listing for Packet Radio Chess was listed and dated in 1992. pakchess.zip 36850 10-28-92 Play Chess over Packet Radio This may invalidate the patent!!!!

    4. Re:Hmmm by GrassyKnowl · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Looks like there are a bunch of programs played over packet radio that would invalidate the patent:

      from:

      http://www.cobrasoft.tmfweb.nl/download.htm

      PAKCHESS.ZIP

      PR4OPRIJ.ZIP

      PSB.ZIP

      These programs are dated 1992/1993

  4. But.... by jantheman · · Score: 1

    don't these things do that sort of thing already?

    --
    -- Mod me down. I am not a karma tart. ffs,gag
    1. Re:But.... by Anonymous+Codger · · Score: 1

      > don't these things [cybiko.com] do that sort of thing already?

      Yes, and if you had read the article you would know that Peer-to-Peer is also suing Cybiko.

      --
      No sig? Sigh...
  5. Read The Patent by MountainLogic · · Score: 1

    It's much more narrow than the headline might suggest.

  6. multi by BortQ · · Score: 1
    an interactive multiple player game system including at least two playing devices

    As opposed to all those multi-player games running on just one device...

    --

    A Multiplayer Strategy Game for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux
    1. Re:multi by John_Sauter · · Score: 2, Informative

      Spacewar, the first video game, was a multi-player game which ran on one device, the PDP-1 and its Type 30 display. The two players watched the screen together.
      John Sauter (J_Sauter@Empire.Net)

  7. Laser games? by MobyDisk · · Score: 1

    Would laser games such as Photon, Ultrazone, XP LaserSport, etc. be affected by this patent? Would they be considered prior art?