Patents threaten virtual worlds, MMOGs

Reader Comments (3)

How are these patents legitimate. How can someone claim ownership of something they did not invent?

RE: The two patents in question are 6,219,045 and 7,181,690. Respectively those are "Scalable virtual world client-server chat system" and "System and method for enabling users to interact in a virtual space".

It seems that both of these should be followed with "in relation to worlds.com" ....How can Thom Kidrin declare all virtual worlds and all virtual world chatsystems his when he only patented one kind?
It seems that each world's chatsystem and each world's shell and structure are unique, and the creator of each world should retain their own individual patents.

All this is just a loophole and Thom Kidrin is trying to abuse words and terms... but when 1 million strong come at this from every angle..... EEK... I feel sorry for Thom Kidrin.... cause it's rare that one person is going to have to battle EVERYONE, not from just one world, but from ALL worlds.

The longer this foolishness goes on, the more Thom Kidrin seals hit fate as 'the worst person in MMOG history' ouch, that's a pretty nasty title to have for someone that owns a virtual world.

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The way things generally work is that it's the first one who gets to the patent office with the most correct paperwork, as it were.

Having your application granted by the USPTO gives you provisional ownership. They're also the people who handle trademarks, and you've seen *some* of the silliness that can surround those. Patent law is even *more* exciting.

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