PlayStation 4, PlayStation Network Infringe 6 Videogame Patents, Alleges NY Complaint

The PlayStation 4, the PlayStation Network and the games developed and marketed for the platform infringe six videogaming patents dating to 2008, alleged patent entity Bot M8 in a complaint (in Pacer) Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. All the patents originally were assigned to Japanese casino-gaming equipment supplier Aruze or Universal Entertainment, the company that Azure became in 2009, said the complaint, which names as plaintiffs Sony in Japan, the Sony America holding company in New York and the Sony Interactive Entertainment videogaming subsidiary in California. Each of the patents “generally relates to a gaming machine, a gaming information authentication loading device, and a gaming information loading device,” said the complaint, which calls Bot M8 the rightful owner of the patents, but doesn’t say when it bought them. "We don’t comment on pending litigation," emailed Sony America spokesperson Lisa Gephardt Thursday.