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Capcom suing Koei in patent-dispute for 980 Million Yen

Garou

Garou

Member
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/west/west_affairs/news/140826/waf14082617470028-n1.htm

Capcom is arguing that Koei infringed in 49 titles (e.g. Sengoku Musou Moushouden, PS2 (2004)) a patent by Capcom filed in 2002 about the function of adding new characters and scenarios to a game, as well as the function of alerting the player of nearby enemies through rumble.
Capcom pledges that through those infringements Koei boosted the sales of their titles. At a total sales-revenue of 9.8 billion Yen, Capcom seeks 5-10% in license fees, as well as the stop of sales for several titles.

Edit: To be clear, the patent is for "Combining software to add the content", so things like expansion discs I would assume, after all the patent is from 2002.

Edit 2: 980 Million Yen = 7.1 Million Euro = 9.4 Million US$ = 5.7 Million GBP
 
D

Dicer

Banned
Seems like a shifty case, software implementations...Capcom you make me weep, you have slid so far down :(

　According to the complaint, in 2002, Capcom patented features and are added scenarios and characters new to the game by combining it with other software, relates to an apparatus for informing a vibration of the presence of such character of the enemy.
Click to expand...

sorry Capcom, a buzz for alerting when an enemy is close isn't something you should own...
 
S

ShogunDarius

Member
first Dynasty Warriors expansion released in 2003, Sengoku Basara 1 launched in 2005 and the first 'expansion' for Basara 2 (1 had no expansion to my knowledge) was in 2007.
 
L

L~A

Member
the function of adding new characters and scenarios to a game
Click to expand...

Are they talking about DLC or something?

But man, wish companies stopped with those crappy patent wars.
 
A

Acosta

Member
Capcom transformed in a patent troll. When I thought they couldn't get lower...

It looks insane, I would like more detail because I can't believe they can claim they own the concept of expansion.
 
P

Phazon

Member
Garou said:
a patent by Capcom filed in 2001 about the function of adding new characters and scenarios to a game, as well as the function of alerting the player of nearby enemies through rumble.
Click to expand...

Those are some pretty general things that companies shouldn't be able to patent imo :/
 
F

funkystudent

Member
Capcom patented expansions? In 2001? And that was allowed?



Well if this isnt a sign of how desperate Capcom is right now for quick money I dont know what is.
 
B

baterism

Member
Garou said:
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/west/west_affairs/news/140826/waf14082617470028-n1.htm

Capcom is arguing that Koei infringed in 49 titles a patent by Capcom filed in 2001 about the function of adding new characters and scenarios to a game, as well as the function of alerting the player of nearby enemies through rumble.
Capcom pledges that through those infringements Koei boosted the sales of their titles. At a total sales-revenue of 9.8 billion Yen, Capcom seeks 5-10% in license fees, as well as the stop of sales for several titles.
Click to expand...

Eh, someone pattented function of adding new characters and scenario to a game???
Isn't that like... something that every company use as dlc? Even Civ V use that.
 
Z

zeromcd73

Member
I guess Capcom figured out they couldn't release a new mainline Monster Hunter on time next year and needed to get some funds from somewhere.
 
3

3bdelilah

Banned
Dr_evil_one_million_dollars.jpg



How much is that in Euro or USD? Doesn't say in the OP.
 
shaowebb

shaowebb

Member
Thats a rather bullshit and frivolous mechanic lawsuit. An alert when an enemy comes by? Yeah...next they'll sue them for using a button to attack.
 
A

ArchedThunder

Banned
Koei is totally the only company to add content with DLC besides Capcpom. This is pretty low of Capcom and will probably get thrown out.
 
T

The_Hitcher89

Member
3bdelilah said:
Dr_evil_one_million_dollars.jpg



How much is that in Euro or USD? Doesn't say in the OP.
Click to expand...

£98m, $140m


Guesswork from my very vague understanding of Japanese and American conversions to GBP

edit: lol, so wrong. Thought the yen was a tenth of the pound, seems to be the dollar

edit 2: wait, it's a hundredth? So a yen is worth a cent, essentially?
 
O

Occam

Member
Patent trolling is awesome. Can I patent the procedure of using a toilet? That should provide a nice stream of effortless income.
 
E

EVOL 100%

Member
Maybe I'm a fucking idiot and live in a fantasy world, but it seems that Japanese video game companies are suing a lot these days. Has to do with bad financials then?
 
Eolz

Eolz

Member
Lol what?
Capcom looking to be worth something thanks to patents before someone buy them. Sad to see...

Edit: nevermind, it's not even a lot of money, misread that.
 
D

DXB-KNIGHT

Member
Reminds me of the Philips and Nintendo case, the only diffrence here is that Capcom's claim is clear despite being weird patenting expansions ?
 
S

SeanTSC

Member
The_Hitcher89 said:
edit 2: wait, it's a hundredth? So a yen is worth a cent, essentially?
Click to expand...

Yeah, roughly. That's the easiest way to do a fast convert of it.

Woo, a whole 9.4 million lawsuit. Wouldn't surprise me if Koei just settles out for 5m and tells them to go away, since they're seeking 5-10%. I hope they fight this absurd patent trolling though so that Capcom doesn't get more settlements from this insanely vague crap that so many other people have done too.
 
K

kadotsu

Banned
Ono please leave the company so that I don't have to care anymore! And take the Ace Attorney team with you. I'm sure some niece of the CEO can take your place.
 
NeonZ

NeonZ

Member
I don't think it's just an expansion, but an expansion that can also be played as a standalone software or combined with the original game for full content (So, basically, the Xtreme Legends games).
 
D

DICKS AHOY

Banned
Wouldn't something like The Sims expansion discs that add content/characters to the default game have been quite awhile before Capcom made this patent?
 
Garou

Garou

Member
The game that was given as a example is
513EDCRCX3L.jpg


which added a handful of characters and stages to the original Sengoku Musou.

Thinking about it, Capcom uses this pattern all the time:
Street Fighter 4 -> Super -> AE -> Ultra
Monster Hunter 4 -> 4G
 
Y

Yagharek

Member
This will be thrown out of court when the patent is found to be invalid due to a spelling mistake.

Garou said:
The game that was given as a example is


which added a handful of characters and stages to the original Sengoku Musou.

Thinking about it, Capcom uses this pattern all the time:
Street Fighter 4 -> Super -> AE -> Ultra
Monster Hunter 4 -> 4G
Click to expand...

So why not sue EA, Ubisoft, Activision and pretty much every other publisher?
 
S

Sol_Goodguy

Member
Patent law can be downright silly at times. I mean, "'alerting the player of nearby enemies through rumble" as a patent? Really?

It's sad to see how much Capcom has fallen.
 
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