SUFFERN, N.Y., December 31, 2008 — General Patent Corporation (GPC), a leading patent licensing and enforcement firm, announced today that it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against NCSoft Corp. of Austin, TX on behalf of its client, Worlds.com, Inc. (Worlds).
The lawsuit (Case 6:08-cv-00508) was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division.
Worlds.com, Inc. (OTC BB: WDDD), of Brookline, MA, owns US Patent No.7,181,690 titled “System and Method for Enabling Users to Interact in a Virtual Space” (the ‘690 Patent). The Patent relates to computer architecture for a three-dimensional graphical multi-user interactive virtual world system. Such systems are utilized in Massive Multi-Player Online Games (MMORPG) of the type known as Graphical Multi-Dimension (GMUD) games, which provide a graphical representation of the player’s character (avatar) wherein movement of the character in virtual space alters what the character views.
General Patent Corporation has represented Worlds.com, Inc. since 2002 as its exclusive licensing agent.
“We had to protect our client’s intellectual property,” said Alexander Poltorak, GPC’s Chairman and CEO. “However, we welcome a dialog with NCSoft and other MMO game vendors.”
NCSoft Corp., a game developer with US offices in Austin, TX, is the purveyor of such games as City of Heroes, Guild Wars, Tabula Rasa, Lineage, and Lineage II, which have been identified in the complaint as infringing the Worlds’ Patent.
“We intend to vigorously enforce Worlds' intellectual property rights and look forward to a speedy and amicable resolution of this matter,” said Stephen Roth of Lerner David Littenberg Krumholz & Mentlik LLP, the lead counsel in the case.
“Worlds.com has been a pioneer in the field of Virtual Worlds since the early nineties,” stated Thom Kidrin, Worlds' CEO. “We are pleased to see that the technology we developed is now widely used by MMO game developers. At the same time, we deserve a fair compensation for the use of our patented technology.”
About Worlds.com, Inc.
Worlds.com, Inc. of Brookline, MA is a leader and pioneer in the development and delivery of 3D content and technology on the internet. Founded in 1994, Worlds utilizes its patented 3D technology in partnership with brand leaders in specific market segments to offer 3D multi-user environments that have interactive Avatars, rich media graphics, text chat, voice-to-voice chat, video and e-commerce. The 3D communities allow visitors to interact with each other, teleport throughout the Worlds environment, as well as participate in shared experiences. Besides partnering with existing content providers that have strong brands and an existing following, Worlds also encourages individuals to create their own virtual spaces, communities and unique Avatars with easy-to-use tools. Worlds was, and remains, true “social networking” well before the term became mainstream. For more information on Worlds, please visit www.worlds.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to Worlds 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, including, among other factors, changes in demand for the Company's services and products, and changes in technology. 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, preparing or expected. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.