Patent suit against Activision Blizzard court date set

A court date between Worlds Inc and Activision Blizzard has been set for June 27, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Denise J Casper.

The suit claims Blizzard’s World of Warcraft title infringes on patents held by Worlds Inc. The judge is set to issue a definitive interpretation of the patent which could place many MMOs in trouble if World Inc’s claim is accepted.

The Worlds Inc patents in question are U.S. patents numbers 8,082,501, 7,493,558, 7,945,856 and 7,181,690 titled ”System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space.”

In basic terms, this is a style of game that forms the core of most MMO experiences. Potentially, this could be a landmark ruling in the games industry.