Following the announcement earlier this week that PalTalk was suing for alleged copyright infringement, Microsoft has settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.
Max Tribble, a PalTalk lawyer, made a statement today regarding the settlement: “The parties have settled the case, and PalTalk is quite pleased with the outcome”. Microsoft spokesman David Bowermaster said it was an “amicable agreement” though neither side spoke of the actual dollar amount of the settlement.
PalTalk’s $90 million lawsuit claimed they were due royalties from Xbox sales as a result of multiplayer technology used in Halo and Halo 2. The technology in question was apparently created MPath Interactive Inc., though Microsoft denies having used it in their Halo games, insisting they chose a different technology in development.
Microsoft also argued that $90 million was a ridiculous figure considering PalTalk bought the patents for the technology in question for $200,000. They also argued that the patents were primarily for technology pertaining to dial up internet, and as such were not applicable to the system used in the Halo games.
Of course Microsoft must have figured there was at least a shred of credibility to the claims if they were willing to settle, or maybe they just figured settling it would be cheaper than the inevitable legal fees. Unfortunately for Microsoft I’ve got a drawing in my 8th grade math notebook that sort of looks like Master Chief, so I’ll be seeing you in court sometime soon, Mr. Gates.
Source: seattlepi.com (Via Kotaku)
