valveThe game developer and publisher behind Steam, a PC game distribution platform, won a lawsuit against Leigh Rothschild and the company. One of the most respected companies in gaming, Valve has been responsible for some of the industry's most critically acclaimed properties since its founding in 1996.
Valve's list of popular franchises includes: half life, team fortress, Left 4 Deadand door. Also disclosed by the company dota 2, A fan-made sequel to the 2003 title. Defense of the Ancients This helped popularize the MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) subgenre. In addition to its development and publishing operations, Valve is also the company behind Steam, an incredibly successful PC game distribution platform. Valve has also produced a variety of hardware devices since its inception, including the portable Steam Deck, which allows players to enjoy a large portion of their Steam library through a portable device. The upcoming Steam Machine promises to bring a similar experience to the living room, giving players the option to play PC titles in the living room via a Steam-powered home console.
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Valve wins lawsuit against Leigh Rothschild.
Valve scored a major victory in its 2023 lawsuit against Leigh Rothschild, his lawyers, and related companies. According to court documents in the case, the judge ruled that Rothschild and the company violated both Washington's anti-patent trolling and consumer protection laws while also violating their contract with Valve. The lawsuit, centered around patent US8856221B2, comes after years of bitter legal battles between the two companies, and Valve's success could set an important precedent for other companies in similar court cases.
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An inventor and head of several companies, Rothschild holds several patents granted or pending. The patent in question, US8856221B2, is listed as “Systems and Methods for Storing Broadcast Content in a Cloud-Based Computing Environment.” In 2016, Valve entered into an agreement with Leigh Rothschild and Rothschild Broadcast Distribution Systems (RBDS), his company and patent holder. Despite holding a “perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid, worldwide license” to this and other patents held by Rothschild, Valve was sued by Rothschild in 2022 for patent infringement. Rothschild took legal action against the Steam Deck creator once again in 2023, filing another lawsuit focused specifically on Valve's use of the US8856221B2 patent.
Valve, along with attorney Samuel Meyler and Meyler Legal LLC, responded to this legal action by filing their own lawsuit against Rothschild himself, RBDS, and several other companies. The suit claimed that Rothschild, his attorneys, and associated companies acted in bad faith when they brought legal action against Valve, and the judge ruled in the developer's favor on all claims. This ruling sets a new precedent in legal action over patents. Valve took massive action not only against RBDS, but also against Rothschild himself, claiming that many of his companies served as “alter egos” for the inventor. The violation of the Washington Patent Troll Anti-Troll and Consumer Protection Act focuses attention on the individuals responsible and prevents judgments from being focused on “shell” companies that the Rothschilds may own.
The ruling will allow other companies to more effectively target “patent trolls” – individuals or companies who hold onto numerous patents with no intention of using them and instead profit from taking malicious legal action against those who exploit the methods and technologies they patented. Because patents play a very important role in the gaming world, they help prevent the industry from being overrun by dishonest individuals who simply want to take advantage of other people's work.
Source: PC Gamer
