News: Patent Troll Lawsuits Strike Once Again, Targeting Free-to-Play Apps and Games

In another round of patent troll lawsuits, the troll this time, Gametek LLC, has filed lawsuits against 21 of the biggest companies in social gaming, including Facebook, Zynga, Electronic Arts, Wooga and 6Waves, and against multiple iOS developers such as Backflip and Gameview.

The filings allege that these companies are all infringing on US patent 7,076,445, which describes “a system and methods allowing the creation, integration, and transaction of advantages.”

According to Ars Technica and a knowledgeable attorney Mark Methenitis, this patent was filed before Facebook and other companies were in business, and was granted in 2006 to one Shawn Cartwright.

It was then transferred to another unknown company called Theados Corp., before being reassigned to Gametek LLC earlier this month. The shell company does not have any legitimate products in the market, and might have been created solely to argue this case and claim any potential “damages” or enforce any potential injunctions.

Most likely, Gametek LLC will be forced into a “fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory” (FRAND) licensing arrangement that would allow other companies to use make use of in-game purchases after paying a small fee.

Hit the source for all the details.