...Sue, Sue Again (2/16/00)
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Okay, cynical, world-weary pessimists that we are, we can't say we're exactly surprised, but it still makes us roll our eyes and sigh long and deep; Sony's filed another lawsuit against Connectix because of its Virtual Game Station product. The history between these two scrappers dates back to January of last year, when Connectix unveiled its groundbreaking PlayStation emulator to a cheering Expo crowd. Sony was not amused, and it was mere weeks before a suit was filed, alleging copyright infringement. A judge awarded Sony a preliminary injunction, and Connectix was therefore barred from manufacturing or shipping any more copies until the case was over.

Things moved at the typically glacial pace of litigation, until last week when a jubilant Connectix announced that an appeals court had overturned the injunction, freeing the company once again to resume shipments of VGS. (Everyone took this to mean that the case was over, but as far as we know, it's still pending and slated for a June or July trial-- only the injunction was struck down, to the best of our knowledge.) Anyway, if we can indulge in a bit of rampant personification for a moment, Connectix was doing a little victory dance, while Sony shook its fist and muttered, "Curses! Foiled again!" Sony skulked off to lick its wounds and plot its next move, as Connectix fired up its e-store and shipped like mad, grinning all the while.

Then the other shoe dropped; according to a Bloomberg News article, Sony's filed another lawsuit, this time alleging patent infringement. Sony claims that Connectix violated some eleven patents in the construction of their "rival product." And once again, you can bet that Sony's going to try for another injunction-- the lawyers probably care more about preventing Connectix from shipping its product than actually winning the cases. War by attrition; always an effective strategy. But until that injunction materializes, you can bet that Connectix is going to flood the channel with as many copies of VGS as it can crank out. Heck, there are still copies out there from before the last injunction...


 
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The above scene was taken from the 2/16/00 episode:

February 16, 2000: Did you believe Steve when he called FreeMac's Jonathan Strum a liar? Wait 'til you hear Strum's side of the story... Meanwhile, Macophiles are blue that Pismo looks just like Lombard, and Sony files another lawsuit against Connectix, this time alleging patent infringement in Virtual Game Station...

Other scenes from that episode:

  • 2101: Lying or Clueless? (2/16/00)   So here we are, smack dab in the middle of yet another presidential election season, and the fur's a-flyin' as usual, with candidates and would-be candidates slinging mud in the grand old fashion that made the U.S...

  • 2102: Old Is New Again (2/16/00)   Post-holiday depression's one thing, but for us, post-Expo depression's a nastier affliction. The causes are similar; a gradual buildup of expectations past all reasonable degree, culminating in a dose of reality that can't help but be a bit of a letdown...

Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast...

Vote Early, Vote Often!
Why did you tune in to this '90s relic of a soap opera?
Nostalgia is the next best thing to feeling alive
My name is Rip Van Winkle and I just woke up; what did I miss?
I'm trying to pretend the last 20 years never happened
I mean, if it worked for Friends, why not?
I came here looking for a receptacle in which to place the cremated remains of my deceased Java applets (think about it)

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