Tag Archives: lawsuit

The lawsuit between the estate of Mario Puzo and Paramount over 2006 action crime game The Godfather has been settled out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Puzo’s estate – the author passed away ten years ago – was trying to get Paramount to fork over $1 million in sales and rental revenue.

“We think it’s a terrific settlement,” said Bert Fields, the lawyer for the Puzo estate, Bert Fields. “This involved one of the most admired films of all time.”

Lots more through there.

In light of the recent lawsuit filed by Worlds.com, NCSoft told videogaming247 this afternoon that whilst it can’t comment on specific cases, it takes all legal action seriously and that the company intends to defend itself “vigorously”.

“We can’t comment on potential litigation except to say that NCsoft takes all legal action seriously – even if the company believes a lawsuit has no merit,” said the rep to VG247 today.

“We intend to defend ourselves vigorously.”

Worlds.com believes it has the patent on “System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space,” meaning all games featuring online virtual worlds – namely MMOs – are under threat.

If successful, NCSoft could be the first in a long line of MMO publishers to be faced with comparative legal action as Worlds.com will be buoyed by any success it might have in or out of the courtroom and will most certainly soon be banging on Blizzard’s door.

By Mike Bowden

California-based Buzztime Entertainment has filed a suit against SCEE, says this, alleging that the Buzz! series of games, developed by Relentless in Brighton, UK, infringes its trademarks. Buzztime makes trivia games for bars and restaurants, apparently played by 13 million people a month.

According to that Gamespot report, “The Buzztime Entertainment trademarks cover uses of the terms for ‘entertainment in the nature of interactive games played via interactive television and an interactive global computer network,’ and ‘equipment for playing a plug and play game, namely, video game machines for use with televisions, video game interactive remote control units, video game cartridges, and interactive video game programs,’ among other things.”

Buzztime wants all infringing products recalled and… destroyed. They should go the whole hog and try to get them ejected into space. More on this as it unfolds.