Microsoft Corp. should pay a New York company $90 million for using its inventions in the Xbox video-game system, a lawyer told a federal jury Monday.
PalTalk Holdings Inc. claims that "Halo" first-person shooter games and the Xbox console on which they are played infringe two patents for inventions developed by MPath Interactive Inc.
PalTalk bought the patents for less than $200,000, Microsoft lawyer David Pritikin told the jury.
The trial in Marshall, Texas, centers on technology for ways to control interactive applications over multiple computers. MPath was "a pioneer in the online video industry in the area of real-time, multiplayer online games," PalTalk lawyer Max Tribble told the jury.
"Microsoft had many meetings with MPath regarding their technology, and Microsoft found the technology to be very valuable," he said.
Microsoft said it did review the MPath inventions and chose a different path in developing its games. The technology is for an older dial-up method of communicating between computers, and "the patents don't cover the way the 'Halo' games work," Pritikin said.
"Microsoft decided to go in another direction and work with another company," he told the jury. "Obviously, this was upsetting to PalTalk and its employees."
Microsoft also is challenging the validity of the PalTalk patents and told the jury that, even if it agrees with PalTalk, "the patents aren't worth much, certainly not $90 million."
The entertainment and devices division, which includes the Xbox games and console, generated $5 billion in sales in the six months ended Dec. 31, the company said Jan. 22 in its quarterly report. The "Halo" games are the company's best-selling Xbox game franchise. Overall, Microsoft reported $31.7 billion in sales in that period.
The trial before U.S. District Judge David Folsom is expected to last about two weeks.
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PalTalk Holdings Inc. claims that "Halo" first-person shooter games and the Xbox console on which they are played infringe two patents for inventions developed by MPath Interactive Inc.
PalTalk bought the patents for less than $200,000, Microsoft lawyer David Pritikin told the jury.
The trial in Marshall, Texas, centers on technology for ways to control interactive applications over multiple computers. MPath was "a pioneer in the online video industry in the area of real-time, multiplayer online games," PalTalk lawyer Max Tribble told the jury.
"Microsoft had many meetings with MPath regarding their technology, and Microsoft found the technology to be very valuable," he said.
Microsoft said it did review the MPath inventions and chose a different path in developing its games. The technology is for an older dial-up method of communicating between computers, and "the patents don't cover the way the 'Halo' games work," Pritikin said.
"Microsoft decided to go in another direction and work with another company," he told the jury. "Obviously, this was upsetting to PalTalk and its employees."
Microsoft also is challenging the validity of the PalTalk patents and told the jury that, even if it agrees with PalTalk, "the patents aren't worth much, certainly not $90 million."
The entertainment and devices division, which includes the Xbox games and console, generated $5 billion in sales in the six months ended Dec. 31, the company said Jan. 22 in its quarterly report. The "Halo" games are the company's best-selling Xbox game franchise. Overall, Microsoft reported $31.7 billion in sales in that period.
The trial before U.S. District Judge David Folsom is expected to last about two weeks.
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