Fortnite, Rocket League owner hit with patent suit over game comms system

RALEIGH, N.C. (CN) — A digital communications company sued the creator of Fortnite Wednesday, claiming that the video game giant tread upon the company’s patent with its in-game communication system.

IngenioShare says in its suit that Epic Games has infringed multiple patents for methods and apparatuses that assign users a digital identity that is separate from their contact information.

This digital identity “ensures a high level of confidentiality and privacy,”  IngenioShare says, and applies a user’s privacy and accessibility preferences across multiple communication modes.

“IngenioShare’s invention(s) enhances privacy by enabling users to consistently enforce their communication preferences — such as specifying who may contact them, at what times, and under what circumstances — across all communication channels,” it says in its suit.

IngenioShare claims Epic has known that its systems infringed one or more of IngenioShare’s patents since 2018, and has caused direct infringement by customers and users who are playing and using Epic’s video games, as the in-game communication features are crucial to Fortnite. Retailers are also trampling on its registration by selling Epic’s products in the United States, IngenioShare adds. Epic Games was the only party named as a defendant in the suit.

Epic Games has other games that use similar systems that make use of the patented technology, IngenioShare said, including Rocket League.

The three patents that IngenioShare claims were infringed were registered in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Fortnite was released to the public in September 2017.

IngenioShare claims that its predecessor first approached Epic in 2018 to enter into a business agreement regarding its patents and continued to do so through 2021, pointing out that Fortnite has implemented its patented technologies.

IngenioShare sued Epic in Texas in 2021 over several of the same patents, in a suit that was dismissed in 2022 for improper venue.

In the current suit, now filed in federal court in North Carolina, IngenioShare notes that it has contacted the U.S. Patent Office to review the patents, which it found are valid and patentable claims. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed that decision. Epic therefore cannot challenge the validity of the patents, IngenioShare said.

Epic has made over $31 billion from Fortnite, IngenioShare says, and is projected to make over $6 billion in 2025 from Fortnite. It is seeking royalties, compensation for direct and indirect infringement, and treble damages due to Epic’s “willful infringement.”

Epic Games successfully won another legal case against metaverse company Utherverse in Seattle earlier this year. Utherverse sued in 2021, claiming that Epic violated its patent on technology that allows groups of people to enjoy virtual experiences through Ariana Grande and Travis Scott’s in-game performances. Epic Games filed a countersuit in 2022, claiming that Utherverse’s patents were invalid.

A jury found in favor of Epic in May, determining that it didn’t infringe Utherverse’s patent.

Fortnite is an online video game that has several main multiplayer game modes, including Fortnite’s “Battle Royale” that drops up to 100 players into a map where they fight to the death. Much of the appeal for the game is its “social hangout” element, Epic’s CEO Tim Sweeney has said — the communication features the target of the lawsuit.

IngenioShare, which has a very minor web presence, emphasizes its investment in licensing and acquiring patent portfolios on its website. Its co-founder, Peter Tong, also founded IpVenture, a company that specializes in developing products, widely patenting them and licensing the patented IP.

Epic Games declined to comment on the suit.

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