The extended patent infringement litigation was filed by Worlds Incorporated in 2012.
According to the Worlds website, “ The Company has a portfolio of 10 US patents for multi-server technology for 3D applications. The earliest of these patents issued on an application filed November 12, 1996. A provisional patent application, serial number 60/020,296, was filed on November 13, 1995. These patents are related to each other and disclose and claim systems and methods for enabling users to interact in a virtual space.”
Worlds Inc. was founded in 1994 and they claim their 3D patents were the first to offer multi-user environments, known as virtual worlds. Their patents have interactive Avatars, media graphics, text chat, voice-to-voice chat, video, and e-commerce potential. The virtual worlds they envisioned allow visitors to interact, teleport travel, and participate in shared experiences.
Litigation with World of Warcraft
In the Worlds 2012 complaint filing against Activision Blizzard, they allege that World of Warcraft and Call of Duty infringe on five of its patents. And they detail their patents showing various processes for creating, displaying, and in-game use of multiple-player 3D avatars.
