Khet

Laser Battle

Innovention Toys, publishers of the strategy game Khet with reflecting lasers, has won a patent infringement lawsuit against MGA Entertainment and their Laser Battle game.

Khet, from 2005, is based on a video game from 1987. MGA published Laser Battle, a nearly identical game, a year later in 2006. Khet’s patent on the game of movable pieces with lasers and with or without mirrors was filed Feb 13, 2006 and awarded September 4, 2007.

MGA’s defenses were a) not all of their pieces are meant to be moved, to which the judge ruled that, although they’re not all meant to be moved, they can be moved, so they’re still movable (which implies that if some of the pieces had actually been immobile, the suit would have lost?); and b) the patent is too obvious, since any layman could translate a video game to a board game, to which the judge ruled that this is not so for this game.

MGA plans to file a motion for reconsideration.

(source)