Microsoft Secures 'Online Spectator' Patent - Its 5000th

[fitbabits]

Thanks to Next Generation (http://www.next-gen.biz) for the news (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2427&Itemid=2).

Microsoft has laid claim to its 5,000th patent, an online spectator mode that allows gamers to watch online games "similar to the viewing of a sporting event broadcast."

Patent no. 6,999,083 covers technologies that will be implemented in future Xbox 360 titles.

The system will allow online viewers who are not involved in actual gameplay to view game highlights and instant replays, as well as let them control camera perspectives.

A statement from Microsoft also describes "A portal such as a Web site to access spectator-related services such as schedules and information on multiple games and events as well as the number of spectators and participants in each. The portal allows the spectator to find the most popular games to watch, preview the action, and then connect to the desired game or event."

Back in 2004, a Microsoft Game Studios job advertisement searched for professionals with server experience to work on “a spectator mode for many Xenon games - Xbox TV - with tickers at the bottom of the screen featuring recent high scores and game highlights, a tournament system, and tradable trophies.”
..........

[johnperkins21]

Really? This seems too obvious to be patentable. Plus, isn't it already running on PC games right now. Maybe not exactly the way MS put it in the patent, but close enough as to void the patent?

[DigitalFirefly]

I guess that's better than EA getting it.

[bapenguin]

This is the kind of shit I hate. This kinda of idea does NOT warrant a patent.

Our technological patent system needs a complete overhaul. When they started allowing patents of algorithms it went too far.

[abso]

Software algorithms should not be patentable... "Why should I fix my code for this idea when noone else is allowed to use this idea unless they pay me?"

[Savok]

I'm gonna go patent 3rd person cameras now.

[Atorak]

A statement from Microsoft also describes "A portal such as a Web site to access spectator-related services such as schedules and information on multiple games and events as well as the number of spectators and participants in each. The portal allows the spectator to find the most popular games to watch, preview the action, and then connect to the desired game or event."

Counterstrike, anyone?

[Citizen Philip]

Software patents are all about innovation! I mean holy rat fuck shit! Have you ever even heard of the stuff they are describing?! What the hell is a spectator? Is that like a spectre from D&D, is it some kind of ghost that can drain my CON and after I die, turn into a spectre too?

It's totally awesome that there is a patent system that rewards new ideas and protects the IP of those new features they spent lots of money to develop!

[Wslove]

Shouldn't have been a patent, should of never been approved, and yes our system does need an overhaul. But remember, frequently companies or persons will file patents like this, get them, and when it comes to court time in defending them lose because the judge sees through all the shite. Course that involves money, on all sides including the taxpayer, and is not as good as the patent department actually coming into this century in terms of thinking and understanding.

That said, I love this idea. Battlefield TV? GRAW TV? HALO 3 TV? Only problem I see is the tidal wave of advertisers looking to rush in and puke their ads up onto my screen because I'm watching Xbox Live TV rather then Generic Sit-Com #1347

[Morratut]

Only problem I see is the tidal wave of advertisers looking to rush in and puke their ads up onto my screen because I'm watching Xbox Live TV rather then Generic Sit-Com #1347

Yep thats true. It would terrible to have to sit through lots of adverts before you can watch your favorite clan kicking some butt in Halo 3.

[midrael]

Ridiculous. Simply ridiculous.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Yeah, this is stupid. Spectator mode has been around for years on the PC, and Microsoft definitely didn't "invent" it. Just another mega-corp patenting something they have no right to patent.

I think I'm going to go patent the number 69. Because, you know, I invented it. :cool:

[Deadend]

Yep... welcome to the age of patent lawyers. The class of lawyers who made themselves important.

[Serapth]

Sad thing is, like them or not, big companies ( and small ) have to do this shit. Look at what just happenned to RIM. Half a billion dollars lost to a patent parasite. Hell Microsoft and dozens of other companies are in courts right now because someone got a patent on plugins!

ARGH... patent lawyers should all be shot. Even though im a developer, I think patents shouldnt exist for algorithms, pure and simple.

[Heretic Machine]

Microsoft invented watch mode... Who knew?

[ziola]

what about HLTV?

[Citizen Philip]

I love living in decadent times where innovation and development take a backseat to profit and maintaining the status quo. This all points towards good things in the future, mark my words.

[UnderHero5]

what about HLTV?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.
Valve has had HLTV working for years now. What MS just patented sounds pretty much just like HLTV.

[Jukey]

Sad thing is, like them or not, big companies ( and small ) have to do this shit. Look at what just happenned to RIM. Half a billion dollars lost to a patent parasite.
RIM got what they deserved. They could have settled for a lot less a long time ago.

[Serapth]

RIM got what they deserved. They could have settled for a lot less a long time ago.

Except for two things. 1) the patent board ruled the patents at invalid. And 2) NTP was a fricking patent parasite. They made nothing and never intended to. They just buy up patents then submarine companies.

Pure and simple abuse of the patent system. However, RIMs actions werent exactly golden, they could have dealt with things much better.

[gzsfrk]

As many have mentioned, there's tons of prior art out there with which to invalidate this patent at a high level. However, depending on the specificity of the patent, MS may have patented only a very specific type of game spectatorship.

That's not to say that I don't believe this to be a crappy move on MS' part, but it's possible they did so as a defensive measure as they are working within the confines of an obviously broken system--a lesson they learned through the whole Eolas embroglio. Several companies have obtained "defensive" patents which they use to make sure that they themselves are sued, but don't try and extort money from other companies who emply similiar technologies.

<sigh> Our copyright and patent systems seem to be all but beyond repair nowadays.

[drakkarim]

sorry, but you have to be a serious loser to want to sit there on your ass and watch other people enjoying games as if you're too stupid to do so yourself.

the best part about it is that they'll actually probably find a way to charge money for it and people actually will pay.

[Serapth]

sorry, but you have to be a serious loser to want to sit there on your ass and watch other people enjoying games as if you're too stupid to do so yourself.

the best part about it is that they'll actually probably find a way to charge money for it and people actually will pay.


HAHAHA... thats rich. Take a look at TV sometime... Survivor, Big Brother, Real World, etc etc etc ad naseum. Sitting on our asses watching other people do shit is the North American way of life these days... why should gaming be any different?

That said, I despise reality tv... but then, with only a handful of exceptions, I despise TV in general.

[RMan]

It's totally awesome that there is a patent system that rewards new ideas and protects the IP of those new features they spent lots of money to develop!
And if that was the case, then that'd be great (BTW, the copyright system does that just fine with software). The bottom line is that patents do promote innovation in most industries, but software simply doesn't need them in the vast majority of cases. The things generally patented are obvious and evolutionary, allowing companies to own a technique simply because they filed the paperwork first is stupid. I suppose some would think it'd be good to let cooks patent a recipe, but I think the line should be drawn well before that, and well before software patents. Software patents do way more harm than good.

[Thenetcase]

IT's like when they trade marked the WORD "windows". Not just the BRAND, but the actual WORD.
That's just wrong. A violation of freedom of speech.

-TNC-

[Beelzebud]

So they are patenting Spectator Mode?

Give me a fucking break....

[Ailer]

ARGH... patent lawyers should all be shot. Even though im a developer, I think patents shouldnt exist for algorithms, pure and simple.

I think you messed up a bit there... let me fix it for you.

ARGH... lawyers should all be shot.

Much better.

[Deathbane27]

USPTO needs to be bombed.

Who's with me?

[Zurik]

HAHAHA... thats rich. Take a look at TV sometime... Survivor, Big Brother, Real World, etc etc etc ad naseum. Sitting on our asses watching other people do shit is the North American way of life these days... why should gaming be any different?

That said, I despise reality tv... but then, with only a handful of exceptions, I despise TV in general.

That's why I hate watching TV anymore. No interaction. Watching someone play a game sucks pretty bad too.

[dolemite]

IT's like when they trade marked the WORD "windows". Not just the BRAND, but the actual WORD.
That's just wrong. A violation of freedom of speech.

-TNC-

Whoa, calm down, read up a little on trademarks. Unless my hyperbole / sarcasm meter is on the fritz again.

[Thenetcase]

Whoa, calm down, read up a little on trademarks. Unless my hyperbole / sarcasm meter is on the fritz again.

:) I know how trade marks work buddy.

I think it's retarded to trademark the individual word. They're even making Andersen Windows put a TM behind the word "windows" with a disclaimer about Microsoft Windows.

Now that's uber retarded... and that's my point.

-TNC-

[dolemite]

:) I know how trade marks work buddy.

I think it's retarded to trademark the individual word. They're even making Andersen Windows put a TM behind the word "windows" with a disclaimer about Microsoft Windows.

Now that's uber retarded... and that's my point.

-TNC-

Could you point me to some information about that? The only thing I could find was this joke site:
http://www.uncoveror.com/microsoft_to_sue.htm

From the trademark wiki:
A common word, phrase, or other sign can only be removed from the public domain to the extent that a trademark owner is able to maintain exclusive rights over that sign in relation to certain products or services [emphasis mine]

Since Andersen doesn't make operating systems, and Microsoft doesn't make bay windows, I think it's pretty safe to say they're both in the clear.

[saran_js]

Damn bloody bloodsucking corporations. They had better thank their lucky stars that the Arab who invented the '0' didn't think to patent his invention, otherwise the whole bloody computer industry would have gone to pot.

Maybe someone should go patent the method of adding 1 + 1 to get the answer 2. That way, these jackasses would have to find another means of getting 2 as an answer for 1 + 1.

[Roc Ingersol]

You know what I hate?

I hate people who pull out their righteous indignation any time they hear the words 'intellectual property', start railing on about what should and should not be pantentable, and just generally make a huge issue out of a patent they either didn't read, or didn't understand.

Microsoft didn't receive a patent on spectator mode.

[Speed_D]

You know what I hate?

I hate people who pull out their righteous indignation any time they hear the words 'intellectual property', start railing on about what should and should not be pantentable, and just generally make a huge issue out of a patent they either didn't read, or didn't understand.

Microsoft didn't receive a patent on spectator mode.
They didn't? Go read the fucking thing.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?u=/netahtml/srchnum.htm&Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&r=1&l=50&f=G&d=PALL&s1=6999083.WKU.&OS=PN/6999083&RS=PN/6999083

Now (if you can wade through the lawyer-speak), tell me:

a) how this is not spectator mode, and

b) why this should not be invalidated by prior art, specifically Guild Wars.

[Roc Ingersol]

They didn't? Go read the fucking thing.
I did. Did you?

(if you can wade through the lawyer-speak)
It's rather my job.

a) how this is not spectator mode
It's a patent on their particular implementation of their specific service.
Although it incorporates a spectator mode, the patent is not on spectator mode in general.

Hell, their prior art and background material specifically cite numerous instances of previous products with spectator modes. And as we should all know before we even pretend to understand patent law: you simply cannot get a patent on a general implementation of something that already exists and you certainly cannot get a patent on a general implementation of something that you've specifically cited in your filing.
It doesn't happen, and if it did, it would be the fastest patent overturning in history.

b) why this should not be invalidated by prior art, specifically Guild Wars.
Because the patent does not cover spectator mode in general, prior existence of other services and games that include spectator mode doesn't invalidate their claim or their invention.