A patent infringement case has been filed for the patent, "Method and Apparatus for Spherical Planning," which could affect every 3D videogame ever made, reports GameDAILY BIZ. Texas-based law firm McKool Smith has sued 12 major game publishers, including Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft, Activision, Atari, THQ, Vivendi Universal Games, Sega, Square Enix, Tecmo, LucasArts and Namco Hometek. The law firm is threatening legal action against several small companies as well.
McKool Smith claims that the defendants infringed on their patent, originally filed in March 1988 for a specific method of displaying 3D images on a monitor. The complaint doesnt request any specific damages at this time.
Eight of the 12 gaming firms are being defended by the same law firm, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP.
Neither side has made any public statements about the case.
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