Worlds’ asked the court to order Activision Blizzard to cease and desist from the alleged infringement. And they also asked for damages to be awarded to them.
In 2014, Worlds expanded its complaint, in a separate lawsuit, against Destiny publisher Bungie. A developer-publisher agreement was in-place between Bungie and Activision at that time.
Bungie petitioned the patent office’s Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) in a challenge to Worlds’ claims. And Bungie says that you can’t patent the concept of a shared multiplayer 3D space since it is a universal ideal.
In January 2020, the PTAB ruled against Bungie. They dismissed all remaining proceedings brought against Worlds by Bungie. And returned all patent claims to Worlds.
The case was appealed to the Federal District Court by Activision. And on April 30th, after years of litigation US District Judge Denise Casper issues a summary judgment in favor of Activision. This effectively threw out the case.
CEO Kidrin says it’s not over
In a statement Worlds CEO Thom Kidrin says, “We are obviously disappointed in the court’s decision, but we believe the ruling is contrary to the established law of section 101 as announced by the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.”
