Level 5 sued by SEGA

[MaitreDétective]

http://www.vg247.com/2012/12/11/inazuma ... -mechanic/

http://inazuma-eleven.wikia.com/wiki/Us ... ue_by_Sega!!!


In all my life, never EVER have I been so angry. And never have I hated SEGA before, but they deserve that hate.

[Vylash]

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

[MaitreDétective]

hahahahahahahahahahahaha

[Akonyl]

were companies always trying to patent the smallest things possible as much as they are nowadays? Because it sure as hell seems like all this exploded recently, especially with touchscreens (and smartphones).

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

Why target level-5? Are they too scared of going after Nintendo itself, or is it something unique to Inazuma Eleven? From what I have read, the patent is "using a stylus or finger to move a character". If that really turns out to be the case, I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo does help level 5 out because they don't want Sega to have precedent.

... Is Sega out of money because of lousy game sales?

[kkslider5552000]

why?

[SirSigma]

Since when was Tim Cook working at Sega?

[Chekhov MacGuffin]

why?

Lawyers insisted that US patent system insanity must be exported EVERYWHERE.

[MaitreDétective]

... Is Sega out of money because of lousy game sales?

Isn't it obvious?

[Vylash]

... Is Sega out of money because of lousy game sales?

yeah they have serious money problems which has lead to a bunch of downscaling on their part

[sonoci]

This is quite obviously a desperate move just trying to get some money.

I mean, really? The DS's whole gimmick is TOUCH SCREEN CONTROLS. It'd be like a company trying to sue because a game used motion controls for the Wii.

[aly_angelflight]

I don't think game mechanics are patentable unless they involve some sort of hardware beyond the generic console...

[kyuuketsuki]

Just gonna say this... This is on the level of the Apple patent trolling. You shouldn't be able to patent a simple function or mechanic. It is just stupid.

I love Sega and they have made some of my favorite games, but I hope they lose and I hope this becomes precedent for future rulings on mechanics and gestures. That way patent trolling for stupid things can stop and perhaps we can start innovating again.

And as for people who think stupid things can't be patented, remember that Apple patented slide to unlock, pinch to zoom, a rectangle with rounded corners and a basic looking app drawer... (I probably missed things). So yeah, I believe that they have "legitimate" grounds, still want them to lose though.

Actually... that would be a great twist for me... Google paying Sega to do this so that they can have precedent against Apple and invalidate their patents. I'd respect Sega if this was all a ruse to have certain patents invalidated and have a reevaluation of the patent granting system.

[alicetama]

... Is Sega out of money because of lousy game sales?

yeah they have serious money problems which has lead to a bunch of downscaling on their part

That's weird. I mean, I'm no video game buff, but shouldn't they have a lot of money because of the Sonic games? Or are those not doing so hot either?

[Vylash]

... Is Sega out of money because of lousy game sales?

yeah they have serious money problems which has lead to a bunch of downscaling on their part

That's weird. I mean, I'm no video game freak but shouldn't they have a lot of money because of the Sonic games? Or are those not doing so hot either?

yeah the sonic games tend to do fairly well, but that's not enough to really keep them afloat, they have more game failures than successes