Capcom Suing Koei Tecmo For Patent Infringement

Night Watcher

Night Watcher

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    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.
     
    Yep, Koei definitely deserves it. With their idea stealing. Capcom would never do that.

    Spoiler:
     
    Actually, Capcom is just desperate for money.
    Besides SW came before Sengoku Basara. Dates: Sengoku Basara ~ 21 July 2005 (JP)
    Samurai Warriors ~ February 11, 2004 (JP)
    Oh and UPDATE: A Koei Tecmo representative has confirmed that this lawsuit is real, but the Samurai Warriors publisher is confident that it's in the right and there's no cause for alarm.

    "It is true that Capcom has filed a suit against Koei Tecmo," the publisher said in a statement. "However we hold that there has been no copyright infringement of IP and patents held by Capcom and believe that this claim has no merit as will be proven through legal proceedings."
     
    I have never liked Capcom. The only game I really like from them is Project X Zone, 'cause they're including other companies like Bandai Namco.
     
    I feel like they've already got worst.
    I mean, they only get sales if they team up with a company, unless it's a famous series which they only got the ones you listed above and Street fighter, Imo.
     
    Kokoro said:
    I feel like they've already got worst.
    I mean, they only get sales if they team up with a company, unless it's a famous series which they only got the ones you listed above and Street fighter, Imo.
    Click to expand...
    Dragon's Dogma, Resident Evil, Strider, Devil May Cry, Dead Rising, etc.

    I'd say they're doing pretty good on the active franchise front. Their sales are fine, especially for Capcom games that aren't melded with other companies.

    In fact, what you're saying seems to be more true for Koei (as much as I love them), especially considering the number of crossover games they've done in the last five years. And the fact that, in terms of non-Tecmo inherited IPs (mainly Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive), they don't really have many IPs of their own that they develop apart from the Warriors games, and most of the franchises that they have their name on are simply ones they've helped published, generally in the US. And in terms of DLC, they can be just as bad as Capcom (I'm practically blinded by all the DLC anytime I go to the DOA5 or Dynasty Warriors store).

    ---

    But despite all of this, as I said in the first post, this seems like a rather hypocritical move. The Warriors franchise, one of TeKoei's most profitable franchises (if not their most profitable), was the basis for Sengoku Basara. You'd think Capcom would be thankful that they didn't sue rather than trying to take some money off of a rather weak claim. It's pretty despicable, really.
     
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