- Worlds asks Supreme Court to accept Worlds’ case on its own, or as a companion case to the American Axle & Manufacturing v. Neapco Holdings case
- Worlds’ case similar to American Axle case in which the Solicitor General strongly recommended the Supreme Court clarify its test for patent eligibility
Boston, MA, June 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Yesterday, Worlds Inc. (OTCQB: WDDD) filed a Petition for a writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court, requesting that the Supreme Court review the March 10, 2022 decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the adverse District Court decision from April 30, 2021. Those decisions ruled in favor of defendants Activision Blizzard Inc., Blizzard Entertainment, Inc., and Activision Publishing, Inc., and concluded that the patents asserted by Worlds were invalid as directed to abstract concepts.
In addition to the Petition for writ of certiorari, is asking the Supreme Court to clarify the test applied by courts when deciding questions of patent eligibility. Worlds’ petition emphasizes the importance of a clear and predictable patent system to best encourage and protect innovation in the United States, in addition to highlighting its past innovations and accolades for virtual world technology development.
While the Supreme Court accepts just a few cases for review every year, it has recently shown an interest in revisiting the current test for patent eligibility first established in two Supreme Court decisions that issued in 2012 and 2014. In 2021, the Supreme Court asked the United States Solicitor General to comment on a pending petition for writ of certiorari filed in another case involving patent eligibility determinations. In that case, American Axle & Manufacturing v Neapco Holdings, the Federal Circuit concluded that a patent for a novel mechanical driveshaft was directed to a law of nature under the Supreme Court’s eligibility test, and therefore ineligible. On May 24, 2022, the Solicitor General filed the amicus brief of the United States and strongly recommended that the Supreme Court clarify its test for patent eligibility (Details in Law360 and IPWatch. Since the issues in Worlds’ case are similar to those briefed by the Solicitor General, Worlds has asked that the Supreme Court accept Worlds case on its own, or as a companion case to the driveshaft case.
The Supreme Court could decide as early as July whether to grant Worlds’ petition. If it grants the petition and agrees to hear Worlds’ case, briefing on the merits would begin this summer.
Worlds CEO Thom Kidrin stated, “Whether you talk to judges, patent examiners, attorneys, technical specialists, or business leaders, there is a lot of confusion about how to properly implement the Supreme Court’s test for patent eligibility. Even the Judges sitting on the Federal Circuit, which is the country’s patent appeals court, are begging the Supreme Court to clarify its current eligibility test. The time is right for the Supreme Court to provide clarification and restore predictability to the U.S. patent system. We are encouraged by the unanimous voices urging the Supreme Court to revisit its test and look forward to receiving a decision on this petition.”
Timeline of Worlds’ Patent Litigation
- 2012, Worlds filed a complaint in federal district court in Massachusetts, asserting that the Activision defendants—and their Call of Duty and World of Warcraft games series—infringed Worlds’ patents directed to three-dimensional (3-D) virtual world technology and network architecture.
- Late 2015 - Activision et al raised patent validity challenges before the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office's Patent Trial & Appeal Board (PTAB) as litigation headed toward trial.
- Early 2016 - Court stayed the litigation while Worlds defended its patents.
- January 2020 - Worlds’ patents all survived the PTAB validity challenges and the litigation stay was lifted shortly thereafter.
- April 2021 - The parties engaged in fact and expert discovery until the District Court ruled at the end that Worlds’ patents were invalid under 35 U.S.C. § 101 as abstract and therefore patent-ineligible.
- March 10, 2022 - U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit summarily affirmed the District Court judgment without opinion.
- June 2022 – Worlds files petition for a writ of certiorari asking the Supreme Court to review the adverse District Court decision and to clarify the test applied by courts when deciding questions of patent eligibility.
A copy of Worlds’ petition to the U.S. Supreme Court may be obtained from the U.S. Supreme Court’s electronic docket site: (https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docket.aspx).
Kidrin reiterated Worlds’ role in breaking ground on virtual world technology. “Worlds created and patented the technology and network architecture that enabled us to create the first and longest continuously operating Metaverse, and our intellectual property serves as the foundation for many of the massive multiplayer online role-playing games that dominate virtual reality online gaming today. We strongly believe in the validity of our patents and their role in the development of the online gaming enjoyed by millions of people today. We hope that Worlds will ultimately prevail at the Supreme Court, and eventually return to the District Court with our infringement case against the Activision defendants.”
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About Worlds Inc.
Worlds, Inc. (OTCQB: WDDD), is a leading intellectual property developer and licensee of patents related to 3-D metaverses. Worlds developed the technology that enabled the creation of the first and longest continuously operating 3-D virtual world and serves as the foundation for many of the massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). The Company has a portfolio of 10 U.S. patents for multi-server technology for 3-D applications. The earliest of these patents issued on an application filed November 12, 1996. A provisional patent application, serial number 60/020,296, was filed on November 13, 1995. These patents are all related and disclose and claim systems and methods for enabling users to interact in a virtual space. For additional information about Worlds, Inc., please visit: www.Worlds.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to Worlds Inc. that are based on the beliefs of Worlds' management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events including estimates and projections about its business based on certain assumptions of its management, including those described in this Release. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Additional risk factors are included in the Company’s public filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as “hoped,” “anticipated,” “believed,” “estimated,” “should,” “preparing,” “expected” or words of a similar nature. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.
Contacts:
Media Relations:
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