After acquiring Activision Blizzard for a staggering $69 billion, Microsoft is clearly not in the best of its states. The company had to shut down four of Xbox’s renowned development studios as a way to cut down on expenses. The company is even reportedly offering voluntary severance agreements to the staff of Zenimax, another subsidiary company of Microsoft.
But the description of Microsoft’s current disastrous state is not complete yet. Activision Blizzard has now lost a nine-year-long legal battle where a huge penalty will have to be paid by the Call of Duty and World of Warcraft makers.
Activision Blizzard is Ordered to Pay $23.4 Million for Patent Infringement
As per Reuters, the company was ordered to pay out $23.4 million to tech incubator, Acceleration Bay, for infringing on two of the company’s patents. The jury returned with a verdict of $18 million for World of Warcraft and $5.4 million for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare for infringing the patents of the respective games.
The patents supposedly shared information related to multiplayer gameplay. It took nine long years to finally conclude the case, as Acceleration Bay filed the infringement complaint back in 2015.
The action was dismissed initially, and the company refiled that complaint after a year. Acceleration Bay lawyer, Aaron Frankel, was proud of his team saying he was “thrilled to get this case to trial after nine years,” and it was “gratifying for Acceleration Bay to finally have had its day in court.”
Activision Blizzard is not the only company to face the wrath of patent infringement from Acceleration Bay. According to Gamesindustry.biz, this tech incubator has several patent infringement claims against tech giants like Take-Two Interactive, Electronic Arts, and Amazon Web Service. All of these charges were filed in the last five years.
How Did Activision Blizzard Respond?
Quite naturally, Activision Blizzard didn’t take the jury’s decision in a good manner. The company argued that any monetary penalty should not exceed more than $300,000. And the amount they have to pay is much more than that. However, the court refused to reduce the damages.
The company denied the allegation against them and as per Law360, this is what they had to say about this claim:
While we are disappointed, we believe there is a strong basis for appeal. We have never used the patent technologies at issue in our games.
Activision Blizzard has been facing a lot recently. And speaking of lawsuits, in December 2023, the company settled a California civil rights suit for $54 million for claims of “frat boy” culture and a “breeding ground for harassment and discrimination against women.” This case was filed in 2021.
Now it’s up to Activision Blizzard to go further and appeal. What do you think about the jury’s holding? Will the multi-billion dollar company find success in a higher court? Let us know your views on this case in the comments!
