Microsoft Sued for Letting You Play with Your Friends

A small company you have probably never heard of is alleging that Microsoft's multiplayer community design is a rip-off of a patent filed in 1998.  Instant messaging and chat company Paltalk is dragging the big boys from Redmond into court over Xbox Live.

Paltalk believes they are the inventors and rightful owners of the methods used on Live to allow player-to-player communication and the forming of groups for online play.  The technological foundations for the lawsuit are beyond my reading or writing skills, but the basic claims from Paltalk are clear enough for the major lawsuit announced three days ago.

No word from Paltalk if they also own the patent for "reciting song lyrics while playing COD2", "shouting slurs" or "cheating on Halo, then gloating about it".  If they want to be responsible for Xbox Live, they might as well take the bad with the good.

I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft has trailer-loads of money sitting in a garage, waiting for just these types of lawsuits, but the case will undoubtedly play out over a long time.  Lawyers bill by the hour, after all.

Will this crash Live, or force us to play G.R.A.W. over "Paltalk Live"?  Not likely.  Will it mean a higher price for Xbox Live access, due to royalty fees or court costs?  Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it either.  This is all too early to call, but certainly a significant development.