American Video Graphics summons dated patents in an attempt to swipe money from dozens of hardware and software companies.
In what can only be described as exploitation of digital technology’s earlier years, American Video Graphics is suing Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft in addition to major third party publishers and many PC hardware manufacturers. All together, AVG claims the companies targeted have breached one or more of its 25 relevant patents.
AVG, which has come into possession of Tektronic’s 3D graphics patents (dating back to 1987), is aiming to receive royalties for virtually all 3D graphical techniques, both past and present. The most significant patent cited is the basic concept of rendering a 3D image on a 2D display. Perhaps less questionable is its patent on image frame buffers, though this is a commonly used technique as well.
If honored, technology companies of many fields could be fined for what is generally considered fundamental concepts in the modern graphics field.