The previous case was Lipstream vs HearMe. This IP law suit was settled due to prior art in Netrek. Unfortunately the patent itself was not overturned. A number of key netrek contributors were involved in this law suit including myself. I have a copy of the motion for summary judgment at www.netrek.org/archive/patent/SJ_Motion.pdf which is available to the netrek community as a result of our help. I do not know if the settlement itself was sealed. If you search vanilla-list, there should be some archived messages about this issue. Dave On Thu, Jan 06, 2005 at 02:51:56PM +0100, E. Hietbrink wrote: > FYI, I received a request to bust some patent with prior art: Netrek.I > remember > things like this popping up before in the past. Who handled it back then and > what was it about? > > Anyway, find below a quick draft of my answer to Nick Schuneman. Can you > guys > go over it and correct/extend where appropriate? I do not know all the > answers. > Let's try to give him a prompt response. > > I do not want to ask the guy this now, but I'd like to know how we can > *prove* > that the features we discuss were present in Netrek/Xtrek in the 80's? > Anyone > still has CVS logfiles? Or what methods could we use for that? > > Further: is it normal to not disclose further details of the conflicting > patent? > > Regards, > Erik > > > > > >Date: Wed, 5 Jan 2005 15:57:36 -0500 > >From: nschunem at law.harvard.edu > >To: Shadow.Hunter at netrek.org > >Subject: Need Help Busting Netrek-threatening Patent > > > >Hello, > > > >My name is Nick Schuneman. I am a second year law student at Harvard, and > >am > >working this winter on a project to "bust" (i.e. invalidate) > >technology-constricting patents. > > A noble cause indeed! > > > >One of the patents we are trying to > >invalidate seemingly covers games like Netrek, and if upheld as valid by > >the > >Patent Office, could be used to enjoin Netrek players from enjoying their > >favorite pastime and even sue Netrek users and developers for monetary > >damages. > > In fact, the patent owner has already shown a propensity for threatening > >small-time and non-profit operations that he feels infringe his patent. > > It it possible for you to disclose more information about the patent in > question? > Out of curiosity (obviously I am not a lawyer), but Netrek has always been > open > source and never required any fees to play, and never pushed other competing > games out of the market, so how could anyone sue for monetary damages in > that > case? > > > >However, there is some good news. Netrek was developed prior to the > >critical > >date of the patent (which dates back to 1996), and therefore may help to > >bust > >the patent and protect the innovative activities of those in the on-line > >gaming > >community. I have read the Netrek FAQ and Newbie guide, and have compiled > >a > >good deal of information that will be helpful in busting the patent at > >issue. But I still have a few blanks that I hope you could help fill in > >(or at least > >point me in the right direction). Any information you an provide would be > >of > >great help in our effort to prevent bullying of community-minded software > >developers. > > Netrek in its current form was born in 1988, so that should adequately > predate > this patent. But many of the game features that you inquire are even present > in Netrek's direct predecessors, Xtrek, Conquest and Empire, dating back to > the > early 80's. > > > >Please bear in mind that I'm not a gamer, so I apologize if I use any > >inappropriate or absurd vocabulary to describe certain features of the > >game. > > > >(1) How often are the ratings / rankings updated? > > Question to you all: is this per server tick? =10 times per second? > > > >(2) Are the rankings of other players transmitted (and displayed) to each > >player > >during the game play? > > Yes, both transmitted and displayed during game play. Outside the game the > statistics overview can be generated at arbitrary intervals. > > > >(3) Can players log on / log off of a game while other players continue to > >play? > > Yes. There is no requirement for all players to be present before a game can > start. They can come and go as they please. A minimum of 4 players on 2 > teams > is required however to start "Tournament mode" which is the game phase where > statistics and rankings are updated. > > > >(4) I read in the FAQ that rankings are only compiled in the "tournament > >mode." Is it possible for players to log on and off during the tournament > >mode game > >while other players continue to play? > > See my answer to (3). At all times it is possible for players to join and > leave > the game. The latter can also happen unintentionally when a network > connection > between the server and the player is broken. The game server detects this > and > cleans up the "slot" for a new player. At most the game server allows 16 > concurrent players. When there are more interested players, they will be put > into a waiting queue from which they can join the game as soon as a slot > opens. > > > >Thank you so much for your help! If you are interested in any further > >information regarding the patent-busting project, there is a nice > >explanation > >on the Electronic Frontier Foundation's website: > > > >http://www.eff.org/patent/wanted/patent.php?p=sheldon > > > >Thank you, > > > >Nick Schuneman > > > >Clinical Student > >Berkman Center for Internet & Society > >Harvard Law School > >nschunem at law.harvard.edu > > > > > _______________________________________________ > vanilla-devel mailing list > vanilla-devel at us.netrek.org > https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/vanilla-devel _______________________________________________ vanilla-devel mailing list vanilla-devel at us.netrek.org https://mailman.real-time.com/mailman/listinfo/vanilla-devel