Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft's Online Spectator Patent
Next Generation reports on Microsoft's 5000th patent: an online spectator mode for competitive games. From the article: "The system will allow online viewers who are not involved in actual gameplay to view game highlights and instant replays, as well as let them control camera perspectives. A statement from Microsoft also describes 'A portal such as a Web site to access spectator-related services such as schedules and information on multiple games and events as well as the number of spectators and participants in each. The portal allows the spectator to find the most popular games to watch, preview the action, and then connect to the desired game or event.'"
Yeah, because nobody has ever done that before *cough* Unreal Tournament *cough*.
True, but Quake 1 had it even before that. Way before 2001, which was when MS filed for this patent.
Slackware
UT came out in 1999.
swing and a miss..... patents length is not being extended, copyright is...
The phrase "more better" is acceptable English. suck it grammar Nazis
For those who had no damn clue what HLTV was: linky :)
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
-Hoban Washburn
I could have sworn that HLTV, done by Valve does just this, and that it has been out for the past 5 years
hltv.org was registered back in April of 2002. Perhaps it was around in some other form prior to moving to its own domain.
I wonder if my 4 year old portal is now patented, and i should be paying royalties to Microsoft
Considering Microsoft filed for the patent back in August of 2001, anything's possible.
I've no idea how long it had the ability to do so before I started playing. Anyway you didn't participate in the game while you were an observer. Guess that could serve as prior art to this nonsense.
That would be the first patent I ever read about that I myself held prior art to. Not that it makes much difference.
jesus, if there isnt prior art for this, i dont know what it is. proof the uspto needs an overhaul.
-schwal "Hanging is too good for punners, they should be drawn and quoted"
Quake 2 did this.
Total Annihilation (9/1997) had a watcher mode. A mod by the swedes allowed multiplayer games to be recorded and replayed.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be."
Basically, if anyone (the inventor included) publishes the "invention" before the patent is applied for, it becomes "prior art" and is forever excluded from patent protection.
Of course, this is the USPTO we're talking about here; they'll apparently issue a patent on ANYTHING if one is persistent enough...
"My strength is as the strength of ten men, for I am wired to the eyeballs on espresso."
You mean like the file system patents they rediscovered recently and started charging fees for? Or other patents they basically lincense in a way that everyone except opensource can use it (Office XML)?
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.