IBM accuses ‘Farmville’ creator of patent infringement
International Business Machines Corp (IBM) has sued Zynga Inc, the maker of online games "Words with Friends" and “Farmville”, over alleged patent infringement.
IBM’s suit, filed Monday, May 2, claimed that Zynga, and its subsidiary Chartboost, had together infringed four patents, some of which cover inventions from IBM’s development of the online service Prodigy.
Prodigy, described as a “forerunner to today’s internet” by the suit, was developed in the late 1980s.
“Zynga’s products and its business model rely on prior innovations in big data, analytics, and online advertising made by IBM and others,” said the suit.
It added: “As Zynga’s business has developed, it has continued to incorporate additional innovations pioneered by IBM. But unlike dozens of Zynga’s peers in the industry, Zynga does not have a licence to use IBM’s patents."
According to the suit filed at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, IBM has attempted to negotiate with Zynga about its alleged unlicensed use of the patents since 2014, but Zynga continues to infringe. IBM has also reportedly contacted another mobile gaming company, Chartboost, which was acquired by Zynga last year.
IBM said that over the years it has discovered that Zynga infringes additional IBM patents but, “rather than negotiate an acceptable business resolution with IBM, Zynga engaged in delay tactics”, including refusing to meet for weeks at a time and responding only partially to IBM’s letters that set out the infringement.
“After almost eight years without meaningful progress toward a resolution, IBM has brought this lawsuit to address Zynga and Chartboost’s unauthorised use of IBM’s patented technology,” said the suit.
IBM is seeking findings of wilful infringement, injunctive relief and damages.
This isn’t the first time IBM has sued an internet-based company for infringing its technology patents.
In 2018, online deals platform Groupon agreed to pay $57 million to resolve patent litigation brought by IBM. Groupon had allegedly infringed four patents covering online advertising and ways of allowing web users to connect to an internet provider. Zynga is accused of infringing two of these patents.
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