CH64 - Problems

After Ethan and Evelyn took their seats in the office, Barbara began explaining the reason why Magnavox wanted to go to court.

"In our country, we have the 'Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,' and Rule Eleven specifies that when a plaintiff submits a complaint to the court, the clerk needs to review the format of the complaint. This includes the signature of the plaintiff or their attorney, ensuring that the attorney is qualified to practice in the jurisdiction where the lawsuit is filed."

"Because each state in our country has its own laws if a lawyer licensed in California represents a case in New York, there might be misinterpretations due to unfamiliarity with local statutes. This is considered irresponsible by the parties involved. To protect the interests of the parties, the federal system requires courts to review the qualifications of attorneys."

"While this rule protects the interests of the parties, it has also led to situations where companies with legal expertise can't sue using their own lawyers, unnecessarily adding to litigation costs."

"However, Magnavox is not directly affected by this rule. They were originally a California-based company, and it was only after Philips initiated the acquisition last year that they relocated their headquarters. In this case, their lawyers should still be licensed in California. For example, in the previous lawsuit between Magnavox and Atari, Magnavox directly sued Atari."

"But now, instead of using their in-house lawyers, they have hired an external law firm to send benefits to those ambulance-chasing lawyers. This only proves one thing—they don't care about compensation."

"So, I would say that you're probably heading to court. After all, cases involving intellectual property rights are not easy to handle. If they're contingency lawyers, they can demand even more money."

At this point, Barbara smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere, but Ethan was still somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected that there would be so many rules just in choosing a lawyer for litigation.

The key point was that Barbara could analyze the plaintiff's intentions to a certain extent just by looking at the assignment of lawyers. This was damn impressive for a lawyer!

While Ethan was in a daze, Evelyn, who had been frustrated for quite some time, found an outlet.

"Oh, Barbara! You're absolutely right! We feel that Magnavox is deliberately targeting us!"

"Look at this complaint; Magnavox claims that our 'Snake Game' infringes on Magnavox Odyssey's patent. This is clearly impossible, right? Because electronic games cannot infringe on the patent of a game console!"

"Simply put, electronic games are software, and home consoles are hardware!"

"Software infringing on hardware patents? What kind of person could come up with such an idea!"

"Barbara, I've realized what you said earlier is true! People in the courts don't understand technology at all!"

In a torrent of complaints, Barbara nodded with a smile.

"Oh, Evelyn, don't get too worked up. This should be a minor issue."

While soothing Evelyn, Barbara took the complaint and said, "Let me see what these lawyers have written in the complaint."

Opening the file, she started reading the paper with a smile.

But as she continued flipping through the pages, a series of clouds seemed to gather on her face, furrowing her brow.

Seven or eight pages flipped for a good twenty minutes. When she looked up again, her clear eyes now held a hint of confusion.

This made Ethan's heart skip a beat.

"Barbara, do we really infringe on their rights?" he cautiously asked.

Evelyn, with eyes full of curiosity, waited for Barbara's response.

While being scrutinized, Barbara put down the copy of the complaint, stood up, and rummaged through the files behind her. At the same time, she asked, "Ethan, how did you handle the copyright issue for 'Snake Game'?"

"Well... as per your suggestion, we applied for a provisional patent," Ethan replied.

The next moment, he realized something was amiss.

"Barbara, are you saying that our provisional patent conflicts with theirs?"

"No, we're doing arcade games, and they're doing home gaming consoles!"

"I remember you saying before that these two couldn't be mixed because Magnavox Odyssey is a home gaming console. That's why Magnavox couldn't immediately sue Atari for copyright infringement and had to use patents to drag 'Pong' into a copyright lawsuit, right?"

"Don't worry," Barbara said as she continued searching for something. "You go home now, find the receipt for the provisional application, and meet me at the patent office in San Jose."

"Evelyn, please go to the next office and get four copies of the agency agreement for me. I'll explain why we need to sign the agency contract later. What we need to do now is go to the patent office and check their Odyssey's patent records!"

Though Barbara provided instructions, Ethan felt a sense of impending doom.

Because when they consulted Barbara about legal matters before, she had never been as serious as she was now.

However, Ethan understood that it was not the time for questions. Following Barbara's instructions, he went home, found the receipt for the provisional application of 'Snake Game,' and hurried to the patent office in San Jose.

When he entered the lobby, Evelyn and Barbara were already waiting.

Seeing Ethan, they didn't say much. Barbara directly pointed to the agency agreement in front of her and extended her right hand.

"Sign it."

"Receipt."

Ethan quickly followed the instructions. Then, he saw Barbara placing her lawyer's license, the agency agreement, the court summons, and a copy of the complaint in front of the receptionist, saying, "I want to check all the filing documents for the patent 'US3728480 A,' and also retrieve the temporary application file for 'Snake Game.'"

The confident words surprised Ethan, and the receptionists' reactions were even more astonishing.

After inspecting the documents Barbara submitted, the two staff members stood up and escorted them upstairs to the archives on the third floor. After asking them to wait in the break room for a moment, the two staff members entered the archive room to search for the documents.

After about ten minutes, two brown paper bags appeared in front of them.

With Barbara's opening, the provisional application form for 'Snake Game,' filled out by Ethan, appeared. Following that, a patent labeled 'US3728480 A' jumped into Ethan's view with a set of eleven drawings and forty-six pages of descriptions.

'What the heck! Can patents be read like this?'

Ethan couldn't comprehend, but he was deeply impressed.

Beside him, Evelyn nudged him and whispered, "Don't be surprised. On the way here, Barbara told me that our country's patent regulations stipulate that if a patent in the patent office is relevant to a lawsuit, the defendant can legally see the entire content of that patent, and even get a copy."

'!!!'

What kind of absurd law was this?

Ethan suspected he had misheard.

"Are you sure?" he asked with doubt. "If that's the case, doesn't this make patents as accessible as nightclubs? Anyone can visit?"

While they were exchanging words, Barbara was frantically going through the documents.

Maybe there were too many documents, or maybe the technology was too complicated, but she spent a good half hour reading through them.

Just as Ethan wondered if Barbara was stumped by the technicalities, the once calm Barbara suddenly slapped the table, angrily exclaiming,

"Oh, darn it!"

"Who approved this patent?"

"Are the reviewers a bunch of idiots?"

Barbara's outburst surprised Ethan.

Evelyn also looked puzzled and leaned over to Barbara, asking, "Barbara, what's wrong? Does Magnavox's patent pose a threat to us?"

"Of course!" Barbara was visibly upset now, pointing at the document. "Look for yourselves!"

Following her gesture, Ethan and Evelyn directed their gazes to the paper and read two paragraphs.

"This patent involves a device and method used in conjunction with standard monochrome and colour television receivers for generating, displaying, manipulating, and using symbols or geometric figures on a television screen for training simulations, playing games, and other activities."

"This invention is a combination of a circuit with a standard television set, synchronized with horizontal and vertical sync signals, capable of generating signals for controlling 'dots' manipulated by participants on the standard television screen."

When these two paragraphs appeared, Ethan furrowed his brows!

The next moment, he picked up the copy of the complaint and carefully examined the name of the patent!

When he discovered that the official patent name of Magnavox Odyssey was 'Television gaming and training apparatus,' he instantly understood why the San Francisco court had accepted this outrageous case!

"The patent for home gaming consoles isn't about home gaming consoles?"

"The patent for home gaming consoles is about television gaming and training apparatus?"

"This patent is filed based on the display method of video signals?"

"WTF! How was this even approved?"

In that instant, Ethan felt that his troubles had escalated!

Although arcade games were public entertainment, they still used the display screen of a television!

If the patent for home gaming consoles didn't limit the device to 'home use' but instead specified 'television,' then...

Who the heck wasn't infringing?

TL Note:

The issue of practising across states can be resolved in two ways: the first is through a legitimate exam, and the second is through reciprocal agreements, where two states recognize each other's professional licenses, but with limitations.

It's true that you can check patents at the patent office under the pretext of litigation, as confirmed by Nintendo.

The patent for home gaming consoles is indeed called 'Television gaming and training apparatus,' limiting it to television. Any gaming device made using a standard television is considered infringing. This is the key for Magnavox to earn a billion through lawsuits (excluding licensing fees). Among those sued are major players like Nintendo, Sega, Emerson, and CBS. The patent seems a bit outrageous, and in reality, it is indeed quite absurd. It's so absurd that Nintendo's President, Shuntaro Furukawa, couldn't tolerate it and filed a lawsuit in the U.S. to have the patent invalidated. In Nintendo's lawsuit, it was mentioned that the patent's scope had exceeded the technology it originally owned. It not only covered gaming consoles made with pure circuit boards but also those made with CPUs (as mentioned earlier, the Odyssey gaming console didn't have a CPU). Furukawa believed that since their product didn't involve the use of a CPU, it should only cover similar technologies used in arcades and consoles, not home consoles with CPUs. Unfortunately, despite spending millions on the lawsuit, Nintendo didn't win, and the patent naturally expired in the 1990s.