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Ralph Baer On Atari/Pong Lawsuit, Birth Of Gaming

Posted by simoniker on from the pre-pac-man-vintage dept.

Roosevelt Franklin writes "GamerDad.com put up a great interview with videogaming pioneer Ralph Baer today. He talks about the birth of the game industry, the Brown Box (Magnavox Odyssey), the Atari/Pong lawsuit, his patents, and a parent's responsibility. Baer is the original Game God and GamerDad calls him the Original GamerDad too!" Baer says of Pong and patent infringement: "After ten years of litigation in courts from Chicago to San Francisco we collected many tens of millions of dollars."

9 of 27 comments (clear)

  1. The Original Gamingdad was a litigious monster by ObviousGuy · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I guess back in those days it was common practice to sue people who infringed on patents. Today we call those people heros.

    People who sue for infringement today are called predators.

    In the grand scheme of things, however, neither he nor Atari are around anymore to fight for the home gaming market. Both stagnated and were eventually overcome by the Nintendos, Sonies, and Microsofts of the world.

    --
    I have been pwned because my /. password was too easy to guess.
    1. Re:The Original Gamingdad was a litigious monster by Guppy06 · · Score: 2

      In contrast, Nintendo really made a name for itself in the US around the time they got smacked by an IP-infringement suit from Universal and their supposed ownership of the word "Kong."

  2. Tales of frivolous lawsuits past by AtariAmarok · · Score: 4, Funny

    If this news item had SCO in the title, there'd be at least 67 messages by now.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:Tales of frivolous lawsuits past by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      The truth is out now. This gaming device had flip flops and is therefore digital. Unix(TM) runs on digital things therfore it must somehow infringe on SCO IP.

      The anti SCO flames can begin now.

  3. Who is SCO suing now? by AtariAmarok · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "Who is SCO suing now, damn it?! Oh wait, nevermind...

    Before you touch your joystick again, please pay $699.

    --
    Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
    1. Re:Who is SCO suing now? by Lemmy+Caution · · Score: 4, Funny

      If I'm going to be paying $699, *I'm* not going to be the one touching my 'joystick.'

  4. MY GOD! by the_skywise · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Lawsuits aside, this guy INVENTED Pong AND Simon!

    Which means he's ultimately single-handedly responsible for starting the video game AND electronic game business of the late 70's early 80's!!

    (You young whipper snappers wouldn't understand, Pong and Simon had about as much market saturation as Pokemon and Yugi-oh.)

  5. We need tighter patent rules by Nomihn0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The money gained by receiving a patent and suing has become a huge issue nowadays. With SCO, GM crops, JPEGs, and even human genes - people are trying to cash in on others' success. It's like standing on the shoulders of a giants and then denying the giants any claim to the profits these people reap. We need clearer patent laws or else we will be inundated with licensing fees for even the most basic goods and human rights

  6. 150 patents and even more ideas by Flyboy+Connor · · Score: 3, Funny
    In the interview he says he coined 150 patents. He describes his game patent as follows:

    "We won our lawsuits because our patents covered both what is termed "means plus function"...i.e. we showed in the patents and claimed the concepts of the interaction of machine controlled screen symbols (such as a ball) and player controlled symbols such as the player paddles (the functions). We also showed how this interaction could be accomplished (the means). Any game made by a manufacturer that exhibited the type of interaction defined by our patents was found to be infringing..."

    Translated:

    Gamer Dad: "It's a game, see, where you hit a "ball" with a "paddle". Those are the functions."

    Patent examiner: "That already exists. It is called "tennis". Or "ping pong" if you like."

    Gamer Dad: "But I haven't told you the means yet! You do this... with A COMPUTER!"

    Patent examiner: "You hit the ball with a computer?"

    Game Dad: "No! No! The paddle and ball are both on the computer screen!"

    Patent examiner: "Whoah! That's novel! If that isn't worth a patent, I don't know what is!"

    Gamer Dad: "Then there is my second idea. You run towards a gorilla who is throwing barrels at you."

    Patent examiner: "Is that a game?"

    Gamer Dad: "And you do this... on A COMPUTER!"

    Patent examiner faints from so much innovative power.