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Sony, EA, Ubisoft and Disney settle patent dispute

Publishers come to "mutual agreement" over 13-year old voice recognition patent

News by David Jenkins Contributor
Published on

Sony Computer Entertainment America, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Disney Interactive have settled a voice recognition patent infringement out of court as part of an unspecified "mutual agreement".

According to documents obtained by website Gamasutra Texas-based Bareis Technologies was defending a 13-year old patent for automatic speech recognition in CD players for "command and control purposes".

The US District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has now approved a joint motion for mutual dismissal, although it is unclear exactly what was agreed by the companies.

Bareis was originally seeking either damages or a "reasonable royalty".

The specific games which precipitated the lawsuit include Sony's SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs series, EA's NASCAR 06 and 07, Ubisoft's EndWar and Disney's Phonics Quest.

Nintendo, which has often experimented with voice control, was not named in the suit, although Nintendo DS games at least will not have been covered by the "CD player" aspect of the patent.