Walker Digital suing Zynga and Activision over patent infringement

Walker Digital, the parent company of Priceline, has filed a patent infringement suit against Activision Blizzard and causal game maker Zynga over gaming tournaments.

According to the lawsuit, the invention and cheap out-of-town rates company claims a "database driven online distributed tournament system" it patented in 2002 was infringed upon a total of 24 times by Activision and Zynga.

Games named in the suit include: Modern Warfare 1 and 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: World at War, Blur, Wolfenstein, DJ Hero 2, Golden Eye 007, World of Warcraft and its expansions, Mafia Wars, and others, according to Gamasutra.

The patent granted to Walker Digital uses "a method and a system for a distributed electronic tournament system in which many remotely located players participate in a tournament through input/output devices connected to a central controller which manages the tournament". It allows people to enter a tournament after throwing down an entry fee and doling out awards for tournament performance.

Walker Digital's seeking undisclosed compensation as damages from Zynga and Activision, and comes just months after filing a suite against Facebook for patient infringement over the site's new privacy settings.

Maybe they should get the Negotiator on the case.