Well this past week I've encountered a completely new challenge or annoyance to game development, besides designing, building, promoting and marketing a game. The attack of the patent trolls...

Last Friday I discovered a legal packet from one Treehouse Avatar Technologies saying I was in violation of their patents and threatening litigation if I didn't submit to licensing terms. The patent itself is one of those patents that should never have been issued, but well, we've got a fucked up patent system. More or less is patents the storing of game character information in a database and displaying it in a user interface over a network.

http://www.google.com/patents/US8180858

Treehouse also made waves by filing a lawsuit against Turbine the makers of the Lord of the Rings Online over this patent back in the fall and I can only assume is doing the same with any developer/publisher in the MMO industry.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/12/tr...atent-granted/

What is a head scratcher is how I'm even on their radar given my size. My only guess they are trying to shakedown some small game developers and intimidate them into licensing or settlement to rack up a few easy wins to fund going after the big guys.

In the past two days I've heard from at least three other small game developers that have received the same threat of litigation from Treehouse. Pretty disgusted by the whole thing.

I went public with the whole thing in hopes that other small game developers who might be intimidated by the letter and just roll over to their bullshit demands will come forward.

http://gamepolitics.com/2013/07/08/treehouse-targets-indie-studio-threat-patent-infringement-lawsuit

http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1hvlnb/patent_troll_threatens_small_game_developers/

James Fudge, the editor of GamePolitics and part of the ECA is trying to identify other developers that have received these threats. If you have you can contact him at james(at)theeca(dot)com

That patent could just as easily cover the user profile and avatar here on gamedev.

This was filed in 2005 probably 10 -15 years after this kind of technology was already being used by hundreds of other companies.

Yes, the patent would very clearly be ruled invalid, there's many problems with it in addition to decades of prior art. The problem is the trolls know the cost/time it takes for someone to get it to court where it can be ruled invalid is huge. So that's their leverage, it will cost you more to fight it than to simply give in and settle. Even though they know full well the patent would get blown up at trial.

That's why they are trying to pick on smaller game developers. They have even less resources at their disposal to fight, so make easy victims.

Avatar Technologies... Just that name gives it off.

Imma call my company "Achievement Unlocking Technologies" and sue everyone for using my patented method to display unlocked achievements on screen.

The problem is the trolls know the cost/time it takes for someone to get it to court where it can be ruled invalid is huge. So that's their leverage, it will cost you more to fight it than to simply give in and settle. Even though they know full well the patent would get blown up at trial.
That's why they are trying to pick on smaller game developers. They have even less resources at their disposal to fight, so make easy victims.

The tactic of going after smaller businesses seems to have become mainstream lately. Reading many articles about his, such as here, it is even rampant outside of the software industry. Too me it appears to be nothing more than extortion that is somehow legal. It's amazing to read about the various tricks (shell companies to hide their interests, playing the courts, etc.) these companies get away with.

It appears you did the right thing in not just immediately rolling over, and even better alerting others about the issue, but it seems like only patent law reform is going to help keep this type of thing from happening. There has at least been a lot of talk about reform - not sure about action.

In a completely off the cuff thought before I run out the door. I wonder the feasibility of using Kickstarter (or similar) to form a legal fund to aid the smaller indies in their fights against patent trolls. Whilst on the surface this might seem a throwaway idea I cannot help but feel some of the majors won't mind backing such an idea as well. Of course at the end of the day the only winners are lawyers...but if done right, this might be an interesting way to play this game and possibly help raise more attention to an area in dire need of overhaul and resolution.

Free Software Foundation might be a good company to contact. They are most open-source supporters, but they are pro little-guy and against software patents in general and might be willing lend you a lawyer or give you some legal advice. There was also a small game-development law firm in the internet news a half-dozen months ago that was providing free or cheap legal assistance for studios - I don't remember the details though; anyone know who I'm talking about?.

I just came out of a 3 hour meeting with a patent lawyer on Monday where we were applying for some new patents. After that meeting, I have no freaking clue what goes on in the minds of people who either patent the obvious or patent something that has been done for decades. In our meeting we constantly brought up possible prior art and were careful to ensure we were doing things that aren't currently being done. I just don't understand the arrogant, douchey attitude that one would have to have to completely disregard all of that and then screw over everyone they can.

Out of curiosity, do any of the new patent rules affect already granted patents, or do they only affect new patents?

I just came out of a 3 hour meeting with a patent lawyer on Monday where we were applying for some new patents. After that meeting, I have no freaking clue what goes on in the minds of people who either patent the obvious or patent something that has been done for decades. In our meeting we constantly brought up possible prior art and were careful to ensure we were doing things that aren't currently being done. I just don't understand the arrogant, douchey attitude that one would have to have to completely disregard all of that and then screw over everyone they can.

Out of curiosity, do any of the new patent rules affect already granted patents, or do they only affect new patents?

The problem is that since trivial patents get granted frequently it is in any companys best interest to file for patents on every single little thing their products do or might do in the future, if you don't get those patents a competitor or patent troll might get them and use them against you, many of the companies that do this have no intention of ever using those patents to harm competitors but their patents sometimes find their way into the hands of patent trolls through bankrupcies and mergers anyway (and thats when those patents become really dangerous)

We small guys are so easy targets...

We can't afford the lawyers, and don't have time with it anyhow, so its very easy for these guys to intimidate us into paying their "licence fee".

In my mind, these guys are nothing short of "legal gangsters", their whole business idea is pressuring people for money, using various intimidation techniques.

Very sad.

It's also strange this couldn't be stopped. Most of these guys just buy up patents they know they can use to pressure people, they don't produce squat themselves.

You shouldn't be allowed to sit on patents. You should be mandated to use them, and they should expire...

That should dampen these shady guys a bit.