So why sue in South Korea? Likely answer: sue where you think you can win. PUBG is a subsidiary of Bluehole, a South Korean game developer. Choosing South Korea as the forum gives Bluehole and PUBG home-court advantage. Also, the legal standard for copyright infringement might be different in South Korea than in America. The differences in the legal standards might give PUBG an edge depending on the claims asserted.

As of this writing, the specific claims PUBG is asserting against Epic Games are unknown. According to a Korea Times article, Bluehole had previously stated its belief that Epic Games copied core elements and the user interface of PlayerUnknown's. Earlier this year, PUBG filed a similar lawsuit against NetEase for copyright infringement in the US. PUBG filed that lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. In the US claim, PUBG listed a series of elements which individually may or may not be copyrightable, but which together they allege have copyright protection. Essentially, the claim argues that NetEase copied the total look and feel of PlayerUnknown's by including all of the similar elements listed. Check out our previous post for more on the NetEase case. Both lawsuits are in the very early stages of litigation, so there has not been any significant ruling yet.

PlayerUnknown's currently runs on the Unreal Engine 4, which is an Epic Game property. It will be interesting to see if there will be any fallout as a result of PUBG instigating litigation. As it stands now, this case is a big deal, but if this lawsuit grows beyond South Korea's borders, it could get UNREAL! (get it? Unreal, like the game engine? Sorry Canon, had to go there...).

FIG. 5 shows avatars (gamvatars) having a game item function according to an embodiment of the present invention, and it exemplifies gamvatars 530 and 540 generated by combining an avatar 510 which wears clothes purchased at the avatar shop 430 and a game item 520 purchased at the item shop 440. The gamvatar 530 shows the avatar 510 but is arranged in the background layer. As described above, it is possible for the avatar 510 to wear the item 520 or not wear the item 520 depending on the user's setting. ('743 patent, col. 6, lines 33-44).

On May 15, 2018, Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (“Sony”) filed a petition for Inter Partes review (“IPR”) of U.S. Patent No. 7,666,096 (the “’096 Patent”).  The owner of the ’096 Patent is Techno View IP, Inc. (“Techno View”).  The ’096 Patent generally relates to hardware and software for displaying stereoscopic images (e.g., by providing different images that are offset from a user’s left and right eyes to create a three-dimensional effect).  While not explicitly discussed in the petition, the IPR is likely related to Sony’s Playstation VR system.



Claim 1 of the ’096 Patent reads:

1. A method of displaying images in a videogame system that supports two-dimensional and three-dimensional display of the images, said method comprising the computer implemented steps of:
   clearing left and right backbuffers in the videogame system;
storing an image into the left backbuffer;
   determining if the image is in a two-dimensional format or a three-dimensional format, wherein when the image is in a three-dimensional format, calculating the coordinates of a second view position of the image and storing a second view position image into the right backbuffer;
   displaying the image stored in the left backbuffer onto one or more displays when the image is in a two-dimensional format; and
   simultaneously displaying the images stored in the left and right backbuffers onto the one or more displays to create a three dimensional perspective of the image to a user when the image is in a three-dimensional format.

This isn’t the first IPR that Sony has filed regarding stereoscopy.  Back in February, Sony filed an IPR petition against U.S. Patent No. 9,503,742, which relates to stereoscopic image decoding via data compression.

This filing is a great example of a defendants using IPRs to attack patents asserted in litigation.  Per Sony’s IPR petition, the ’096 Patent is involved in a patent infringement lawsuit (No. 8:17-CV-01268) filed by Techno View in the Central District of California against Sony.  The ’096 Patent was also asserted by Techno View against Sony in a U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware suit on May 15, 2017, though that case was dismissed.  Techno View has apparently also asserted the ’096 Patent against Oculus VR, LLC and Facebook, Inc.

On January 29, 2018, FaZe Clan, Inc. (“FaZe Clan”) , an online gaming team, was sued by FAZE Apparel, LLC (“FAZE Apparel”) for trademark infringement, false designation of origin, and unfair competition.  The case, originally filed in the Northern District of California, was transferred to the Central District of California on Mar. 13, 2018.  The case is now undergoing court-directed alternative dispute resolution.


When FaZe Clan is not sponsoring energy drinks (“FaZeberry”) or awkwardly self-promoting in Gamestop stores, FaZe Clan sells merchandise promoting their brand.  FAZE Apparel asserts that FaZe Clan is an “admitted past infringer” of its marks which simply attempted to “steamroll [FAZE Apparel] and improperly profit off its brand.”  According to FAZE Apparel, FaZe Clan has been well aware of FAZE Apparel for at least four years: in 2013, the USPTO refused to register various trademarks for FaZe Clan, finding that such marks would be confusingly similar to those owned by FAZE Apparel.  Since then, per FAZE Apparel, FaZe Clan has repeatedly attempted to market “FaZe” materials, only to (allegedly) back off when confronted by FAZE Apparel.

Cases like these underscore the importance of careful brand planning.  FaZe Clan is now in an awkward position: if FAZE Apparel’s assertions have any merit, FaZe Clan will be forced to either re-brand or seek some form of license from FAZE Apparel.  Even if FAZE Apparel’s assertions are not meritorious, FaZe Clan will likely have to spend significant sums to defend themselves from this lawsuit. 

Either or both of these issues could have been avoided had FaZe Clan taken a more informed and/or conservative approach when selecting its name.  This case evidences that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

On January 30, 2018, Barbaro Technologies, LLC (“Barbaro”) sued Niantic, Inc. (“Niantic”) for the alleged infringement of U.S. Patent Nos. 7,373,377 and 8,228,325. Barbaro’s asserted patents are generally directed to integrating real-world information (e.g., a real-world geographic location) with an augmented reality environment. Barbaro specifically asserts that both Niantic’s Pokémon GO and Ingress infringe the asserted patents.


Claim 1 of the ’377 Patent reads:

1. A method of integrating real-time information into a virtual thematic environment using a computer system including a client and a server, comprising:
   providing a graphics user interface (GUI) module for use in the client system;
   providing a quantum imaging environment (QIE) module in one of the client or the server system;
   providing a digital logic library in one of the client or the server system;
   providing a primary application in the client system;
   providing a first user interface that is associated with the primary application;
   sending a request for first real-time information via the QIE module to the world wide web;
   obtaining the first real-time information via the world wide web;
   downloading the first real-time information from the world wide web into the primary application;
providing access to the first real-time information within the virtual thematic environment via the first user interface;
   providing at least one secondary application within the primary application at the client system;
   sending a request for second real-time information via the QIE module;
   obtaining the second real-time information via the world wide web;
   downloading the second real-time information into the secondary application;
   enabling a user to access the at least one secondary application through the first user interface; and
   enabling the user to control the at least one secondary application through a second user interface.

Niantic, which was spun off from Google, Inc. (“Google”), may have been aware of the Barbaro patents as early as 2006. Per Barbaro, around October 26, 2006, Barbaro sent Google’s Deputy General Counsel a copy of patent publications that led to the issuance of Barbaro’s asserted patents. Google, Inc. allegedly acknowledged the letter but “refused to discuss the matter before the patent issued.” No further detail regarding exchanges between Barbaro and Google are provided in the complaint.

This is case 2:18-CV-00773 in the District Court for Central District of California.  We will track it and keep you apprised of significant updates.

On October 17, 2017, Epic Games sued Philip Josefsson and Artem Yakovenko for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, breach of contract, and, under California law, unfair competition. 



The allegations against Josefsson and Yakovenko are similar to those made against Brandon Broom and Charles Vraspir.  Specifically, Epic alleges that Josefsson and Yakovenko created, marketed, and distributed cheats for Fortnite. 

Interestingly, Epic claims that both defendants, who do not live in the United States, consented to venue in the United States by participating in the YouTube DMCA notification/counter-notification process.  Mr. Josefsson is a resident of Sweden, and Mr. Yakovenko is a resident of Russia.  Both defendants posted YouTube videos displaying their cheats, and Epic filed DMCA notifications against those videos to take them down.  Both Josefsson and Yakovenko filed counter-notifications against Epic’s DMCA notifications.  Because Josefsson and Yakovenko, per the terms of the counter-notification, thereby “consent[ed] to . . . if my address is outside of the United States, the judicial district in which YouTube is located,” Epic argues in its complaint that both parties consented to be sued in the Northern District of California. 

This suit appears to be the latest in a string of suits by Epic to take “every measure to ensure [that] cheaters are removed from Fortnite Battle Royale.”