The massive programme of legal action against alleged infringers of a series of patents covering graphics and other computing techniques has been extended to console hardware vendors Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

The news follows yesterday's revelation that 18 PC hardware companies had also been targeted, alongside 12 games software publishers.

The console makers are accused of infringing two patents, 5,109,520 and 4,734,690. The latter essentially covers representing a dynamic 3D environment and objects on a 2D display, and is the same patent the games publishers have been alleged to have violated. The former is entitled 'Image frame buffer access speedup by providing multiple buffer controllers each containing command FIFO buffers', and is cited in the action against the PC makers.

In each case, the plaintiff is seeking a jury trial, and wants it the defendants to cough up legal costs, damages and both pre- and post-judgement interest on the damages.

With patent applications stretching right back to the mid-1980s, why has it taken so long for key hardware vendors and games software publishers to be sued for alleged infringement of a series of patents covering 3D graphics? Because the current owner of the intellectual property in question only took possession on 16 June 2004.
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Source : OnlyPunjab