Gaikai, the cloud gaming service created by ex-shiny developer (and Earthworm Jim creator) David Perry is being sued. T5 Labs claims Gaikai is infringing upon its patents. A patent war in technology? No way!
T5 says that it owns a patent called "Sharing a Graphical Processing Unit Between a Plurality of Programs", which is essentially what the streaming service – or any game streaming service, really – does.
That might sound like…exactly what your own PC does – sharing the GPU between a bunch of programs, but this patent specifically covers server-based streaming.
It sounds like money-hungry patent-squatting to me, because in 2011 T5 said it was considering the same action against rival streaming service OnLive. Onlive has pretty much made not a cent of money, nearly dissolving – while Gaikai’s future seems a little brighter after its acquisition by Sony.
T5 hasn’t specified a Dollar amount, but what they’d like is seeking damages, attorney’s fees and "a judgement permanently enjoining Gaikai from further infringement."
All this patent war nonsense is really getting out of hand – and is stifling creativity. Honestly, people shouldn’t even be able to get such broad, vague patents as “Sharing a Graphical Processing Unit Between a Plurality of Programs."
Last Updated: October 12, 2012