2004 Web and Downloadable Games White Paper 

IGDA Online Games SIG 

On February 14, 2003 Acacia filed patent infringement suits against 39 companies. As of 

September 23, 2003, 23 of the companies sued have taken out licenses as well as 18 other 

companies including Radio Free Virgin, the online music division of Virgin Mega stores. 

(3) 

Friskit 

Friskit is a San Francisco based technology licensing company focused on enabling consumers 

to conveniently find, personalize, and play streaming media over a network. At the heart of 

Friskits 

 innovations is the recognition that, in a world where media choices available over a 

network will be virtually infinite, consumers will want a media search platform that is integrated 

with the experience of playing media. In addition, they will want to listen to or view media on 

networks (such as the Internet) sequentially and continuously, using network enabled devices like 

personal computers, PDAs, mobile phones, smart appliances or home entertainment systems.

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On June 27, 2003, Friskit, Inc filed suit in Chicago, Illinois against RealNetworks and privately 

held Listen.com for patent infringement. If Friskit succeeds in obtaining a permanent injunction, 

RealOne and Rhapsody could be prevented from offering a number of critical features, such as 

the ability for consumers to incorporate streaming media in personalized play lists, or to listen to a 

set of songs sequentially and continuously.

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(4) 

InterTrust Technologies 

InterTrust Technologies is one of several companies that provide technology to protect songs and 

video from being illegally copied. In April 2001 it sued Microsoft alleging that the anti copying 

mechanisms in Microsoft's Windows Media Player had come too close to its patent protected 

technology. From that time to July 2003 InterTrust continued to expand its lawsuit to where the 

alleged patent infringement covers Microsoft products ranging from the Windows operating 

system to the Xbox game system. In July 2003 a federal judge issued a ruling which interpreted 

critical definitions in InterTrust's favor.

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(5) 

Macrovision 

Macrovision is one of several companies that provide technology to protect songs and video from 

being illegally copied. Macrovision is sparring with rival company InterTrust Technologies over 

patents each hold on similar digital rights management technologies similar enough that the 

United States Patent and Trademark Office agreed in September 2003 to decide whether the two 

companies' patents actually refer to the same thing, and whether just one company should hold 

the rights. Macrovision claims it could inherit a large portion of InterTrust Technologies' 

intellectual property if it wins the rights to a single uncontested patent. Currently, InterTrust 

Technologies is suing Microsoft for patent infringement, contending that virtually all of Microsoft 

s 

key software, ranging from the Windows operating system to its media player, trespasses on its 

content protection patents. If Macrovision is correct in its claims against InterTrust Technologies, 

it is less likely to pursue InterTrust 

s claims against Microsoft.

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(6) 

E Data 

E Data is a Long Island, NY based company that focuses largely on licensing its patents. On 

October 13th, 2003, it filed a suit in Germany contending that Microsoft, internet server provider 

Tiscali and digital music company OD2 are collectively trespassing on its patent rights with their 

new music download services, recently released in several European countries. E Data is asking 

that the services, variously called MSN Music Club and Tiscali Music Club, be shut down until a 

patent licensing deal is worked out. The patent in question was granted in 1985 and covers the 

transmission of information to mobile point of sale locations; the information is then transferred to 

a material object. Courts in the United States have held that this does not include saving 

information such as a song onto a computer 

s hard drive, but that the selling of the information on 

physical media such as a disk in an in store kiosk could be covered. It should be noted that E 

Data patent expired in the United States in January 2003.  

15

 Friskit.com 

16

 C/Net News.com 7/1/03 

17

 C/Net News.com 7/16/03 

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 C/Net News.com 10/15/03 

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