Earlier this month, we heard that SNK filed a criminal lawsuit against Square Enix for violating copyright infringement laws, and now, it looks like Capcom are suing Koei Tecmo for patent infringement, according to a report by Sankei.
To be more specific, Sankei’s report mentions that Capcom are suing Koei Tecmo Games due to the patent infringement in games such as Samurai Warriors: Xtreme Legends and 49 other titles for a total of about 980 million yen (about $9.43 million).
According to the lawsuit, Capcom filed a patent back in 2002 that involves a function that lets you acquire new content by combining an existing game with another piece of software.
While the description of the patent’s full contents remains unclear, it appears that Capcom are effectively referring to the idea of expansion packs, and importing content into the new version of a game. Since the patent was filed back in 2002, it likely covers the concept of using expansion discs in conjunction with the original disc of a game, in order to unlock content, as was the case with Samurai Warriors : Xtreme Legends.
Additionally, another patent mentioned in the report is a controller-vibrating notification feature when enemy characters are nearby. Capcom claims that the patent infringement “has greatly contributed to the sales” of Koei Tecmo’s titles.
It is said that Koei Tecmo has seen a profit of about 9.73 billion yen in total sales, and Capcom are looking to acquire around 5 – 10% in license fees. They’re also demanding the suspension of sales on several Tecmo Koei titles as well.
