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Yahoo! Sues Xfire For Patent Infringement
CheesyPeteza writes "GameSpot is reporting
that the popular game messenger client Xfire is being sued by Yahoo for patent infringement. The patent was originally granted to two Yahoo employees who developed GameProwler for Yahoo Messenger. It describes a system which "allows users to use a game server in connection with a messenger server to permit 'buddies' to know when other 'buddies' are playing games online, and easily join such games." One of these employees then left Yahoo to work for Xfire. Xfire denies infringing on Yahoo's patent, but with the costs estimated at $2 million to defend this cas, will the startup company Xfire be able to stand up to the Yahoo giant?"
In a twist on the classic David-and-Goliath formula, Web giant Yahoo! is suing Menlo Park, CA, start-up Xfire for patent infringement. The basis of the complaint, filed last week in US District Court (Northern District of California) and served to Xfire representatives just two days ago, alleges that Xfire is willfully infringing on a patent controlled by Yahoo! Inc.
The patent, referred to as the '125 patent for the last three numbers of US Patent No. 6,699,125 (see screenshots for select pages from the patent documents), was granted to two then-Yahoo! employees Brian Gottlieb and Chris Kirmse on March 2, 2004. As is typical, ownership of inventions by employees remains with the corporation the employees work for. Such ownership rights are usually sealed in hiring contracts signed by the employee when he or she is first brought on.
In the case of the '125 patent, Gottlieb and Kirmse were employed by Yahoo! when they developed certain technologies for a game-specific variation on Yahoo!'s popular Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! has been the sole assignee--or owner--of the '125 patent since it was granted.
The complaint describes the Yahoo! Messenger instant message service--in this case, the GameProwler instant messenger application--as one that "allows users to use a game server in connection with a messenger server to permit 'buddies' to know when other 'buddies' are playing games online, and easily join such games."
Xfire offers a client application that allows gamers to chat with other gamers online. It also serves to help quickly facilitate gameplay on remote servers.
"Like the Yahoo! invention," the Yahoo! complaint reads, "this capability allows a user to see other users identified as 'friends' or 'buddies' designated on the user's computer in an instant messenger window. Also, like the Yahoo! invention, this product allows a user to see if a 'friend' or 'buddy' is online with her instant messenger program activated and also to see whether that 'friend' or 'buddy' is playing a game online...
"Defendant has no license or permission from Yahoo! to offer this capability."
The Xfire client was first made available in beta form last year. Xfire recently promoted the fact that it had reached the 1-million-registered-user threshold.
Yahoo!'s GameProwler appears to be the application it feels was compromised by the XFire client. Industry sources tell GameSpot that Xfire currently has a patent pending for its service.
Key to the complaint is Chris Kirmse, now Xfire's vice president of engineering. Yahoo! claims that "after Kirmse joined defendant [Xfire], defendant began to develop, test, and offer instant messenger 'client' software and a messenger server that, when operated with game servers, offers the capabilities of the invention."
Kirmse joined Xfire in August 2003. He had left the employ of Yahoo! some years earlier, according to sources.
Neither Yahoo! employees connected with the complaint nor attorneys representing Yahoo! in this matter would comment on the legal proceedings. Mike Cassidy, Xfire CEO, also declined requests for comment by GameSpot.
As this complaint is just one week old, no "next steps" are certain. Lawyers familiar with patent law have told GameSpot a case like this could cost up to $2 million to defend and take up to two years to fully adjudicate.
Impact on Xfire, a company founded in 2002 by Dennis "Thresh" Fong, Mike Cassidy, and Max Woon, is unclear. Likely, the company remains focused on customer acquisition over revenue growth--which makes defense of such a complaint problematic.
Yahoo!, on the other hand, recently reported it had earned $372.5 million on revenues of $1.08 billion for the most recently concluded quarter. Prospects of a drawn-out legal imbroglio, therefore, wouldn't seem to threaten Yahoo!'s well-being. Some industry sources have even speculated the lawsuit suggests a possible first step toward overtures by Yahoo! to buy out the gaming start-up.
How will David fare against Goliath in this case? GameSpot will keep you posted.
They still do. People with accounts at FICS or ICC and you can choose to be notified when a buddy signs on.
I'd call that prior art.
Duplicate post - even in the same thread. ;)
Isn't the internet an system by which you can interact with your friends and associates in various connected ways that make this patent kinda redundant anyway. There are no limitations to the way you can link your apps to be relavant to each other in some way or another. For instance, loggin into the game network could send emails to your friends. your friend (had they still used email for communication) would receive an email with a link to launch an application (GameX, Business whiteboardY, shared spreadsheetZ) and join in the interactive meeting. Big Fucking Deal. This whole software patents thing has been bullshit all along. There is "virtually" nothing you can't do, pardon the pun.
The government which is strong enough to protect you from everything is strong enough to take everything from you.
I remember when XBOX Live was coming out they had online ads where they showed a person being notified about a friend being in game on MSN messenger and his cellphone.
I am not a big XBOX live user (though I forgot to unsubscribe from the beta and they charged me again d'oh) but I have not heard about MSN messenger ever getting that feature. Does MSN messenger have a feature like the one I mentioned above?
If not then did they back off because of this patent?
As far as I know XBOX live has its own buddy list that allows people to voice chat and join each others games. Does Yahoo want to go after MS too?
What possible harm was Xfire doing to Yahoo any way? This is nothing but a big company bullying a small harmless company.
"Why isn't there a frivolous patent infringment classification?"
Motion to Dismiss or Motion for Summary Judgment are two ways to get the case taken care of early. Both still require a fair amount of work, because the courts tend not to take someone's word for it that the case is "frivolous." But still, that's how the truely frivolous cases get disposed of -- dismissal or summary judgment.
"That's not even wrong..." -- Wolfgang Pauli
As an x user of yahoo instant messanger and a current x-fire user, I see no grounds for yahoo to be suing. Surely someone who has a patent on a toothpick cannot sue someone who builds and sells toothpick houses...the houses are a different product all together.
X-Fire has way more features than Yahoo! messenger and is way more useful for "in game" chat.
For example, while I am playing Call of Duty Multiplayer and someone talks to me on xfire a small unobtrusive box appears near the bottom of my screen telling me that someone is talking to me. I can then hit scr lk + x and reply to them without exiting or "windowing" my game. The Yahoo! Messenger program would ruin the brightness setting of my game, temporarily pause my play and THEN require me to either exit or window the game in order to read the message.
These Yahoo! inconviences along with the fact that Yahoo! Messenger does NOT support hundreds of online games that are not their own creation, leave me thinking that X-Fire has improved upon Yahoo's system of doing things at least enough to avoid a lawsuit.
**(all this and I'm not a lawyer?)**
WoW: Scheod 70 orc warlock on Shadowmoon