t5-labs
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Gaikai sued over alleged patent infringement
A Delaware company called T5 Labs has filed suit against cloud-gaming service Gaikai for alleged patent infringement, putting the technology that underpins Gaikai's fancy cloud-computing/game-streaming wizardry under the legal microscope.Specifically, T5 Labs claims that by "providing a system and methods of sharing a graphics processing unit (GPU) between a plurality of programs," Gaikai is "actively, knowingly and intentionally" using the technology covered by T5's patent for "Sharing a graphical processing unit between a plurality of programs."Multiple programs using the same GPU may sound like something that every single computer does on a regular basis, but T5's patent actually covers a specific scenario involving servers, remote terminals and compression algorithms. No specific dollar amount is listed in the complaint, but T5 is seeking damages, attorney's fees and "a judgement permanently enjoining Gaikai from further infringement."Gaikai has "no comment at this time" regarding the situation.
OnLive calls T5 Labs claim to key game streaming patent 'irrelevant'
OnLive had supposedly nailed down the patent it needed to run its cloud-based gaming service (quite successfully so far, from all reports), but a new challenger is claiming otherwise. A company named T5 Labs now says it has been awarded a patent that predates OnLive's registration and gives it control over the fundamental tech behind cloud gaming. OnLive's patent was originally filed in December of 2002, but T5's was filed in March of that year, so, if the two patents do in fact cover the same tech, T5 would appear to have precedence. An OnLive spokesperson tells Joystiq that the company has examined both patent applications after being contacted by T5 head Graham Clemie and "saw no relevance whatsoever to OnLive and told him so. We are approached by people with irrelevant patents all the time. We are highly confident in our own patent portfolio, and have no further comment." Things seem fairly cut and dry from OnLive's point of view. T5 only says so far that it is "deciding whether to commence a procedure in the U.S. Patent Office known as an 'interference,'" which would establish the correct patent ownership. We'll see what -- if anything -- comes of that.
