After nine years, a lawsuit claiming that World of Warcraft publisher Activision Blizzard infringed on a patent held by a company called Worlds Incorporated has been tossed out by a US district court. A judge agreed with Activision Blizzard's attorneys, saying that Worlds' patents are "abstract ideas" that are not sufficiently transformative to be legally patentable.
Worlds Incorporated is described by its owners as "a leading intellectual property developer and licensee of patents related to 3D online virtual worlds." In 2012, Worlds filed a complaint against Activision Blizzard, alleging that World of Warcraft and Call of Duty infringed on five of its patents, which describe various processes for organising and displaying multiple player avatars in shared 3D spaces. Worlds' attorneys asked the court to order Activision Blizzard to cease the alleged patent infringement and award damages (as in, money) to Worlds.
In 2014, Worlds went on to expand its complaint, filing another lawsuit against Destiny publisher Bungie, who in turn petitioned the patent office's Patent Trial and Appeals Board to challenge Worlds' claims of patent on the concept of a shared multiplayer 3D space.
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