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3D Games Patent Threatens Industry?

Posted by Zonk on from the i-don't-think-this-is-going-to-fly dept.

Castar writes "Recently Advanced Video Graphics (AVG) sued several game publishers for infringing on their patent on "Method and Apparatus for Spherical Panning". Since this affects almost every 3D video game, the International Game Developers Association sent out a call for prior art in their monthly newsletter. An industry lawyer has also done an overview of the issue here. I would think lots of CAD software produced before 1983 would invalidate the patent."

7 of 76 comments (clear)

  1. Front page this mofo by UlfGabe · · Score: 2, Informative

    Defendants are Electronic Arts, Take-Two, Ubisoft, Activision, Atari, THQ, Vivendi Universal, Sega of America, Square Enix, Tecmo, LucasArts, and Namco Hometek. Several of these defendants have joined together to mount a common (and very costly) defense.

    well we can deal without EA, i hope the others are leaving them in the cold.

    --
    Check journal for info on Anti-TextBook, an idea by me.
  2. Movie 'Tron' by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 4, Informative

    The movie Tron released in 1982 contains a shit load of 3D rendered stuff. They used existing products to render the 3D things, these products where commonly used to design technical things.

    One of the companies involved was MAGI Synthavision: http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/tree/magi.htm l

    Does that qualify as prior art?

  3. Not exactly a dupe, but... by Pluvius · · Score: 2, Informative

    Should've still been linked in the blurb.

    Rob

  4. Re:What is going on?b by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    You know when you have a 3D model displayed in a game, and you can pan around it and zoom in on it?

    That's patented.

    This is usually done in character select screens. You'll select a character, and a 3-D model will be displayed. You can then use this patent to move around it and view it from various angles and zoom in on it.

    I can't speak to the merits of that patent, but it many, many video games definitely violate it.

  5. Re:What is going on?b by Pluvius · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hell, it's usually done throughout the game. They're called "camera controls."

    Rob

  6. I researched this very point for a client by MarkusQ · · Score: 3, Informative

    A few years back I researched this very point for a client (I'm a programmer/math guy, not a laywer). We came up with prior art dating back to the 1800s (the very same technique was used in painting for "perspective lanterns" or some such). We turned over what we'd come up with to the lawyers, they wrote a letter, and we never heard from them again.

    --MarkusQ

  7. Re:Required date for prior art by imkonen · · Score: 2, Informative
    " For this patent, anything which existed publicly prior to July 20, 1984 would be considered prior art. Good luck."

    Sadly I will show off my age here and point out that one of my favorite arcade games is a perfect example of prior art. 3D world, rendered onto a 2D screen, simulating a first person view from camera. I knew I remembered playing that before '84. The link says it came out in 1980.