Many fans of Niantic have been excited about the new additions to its games such as the Pokemon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. With special uses of augmented reality in the apps, the company has created a unique take on existing franchises. However, that may get Niantic into trouble.
This month, Niantic brought a many new events to both games including a Porygon Community Day and Mega Energy. Even though a lot of the new advancements with these apps have given more variety to the people who play them, some of the patents used in creating these games like Pokemon GO may be getting the company in hot water.
Niantic is now being sued by a technology company due to the way that augmented reality is used in these video games. The company that is filing the lawsuit is NantWorks LLC, which routinely works with technology used in the medical field as well as billionaire transplant surgeon Patrick Soon-Shiong. Nantworks has filed this lawsuit in a federal court in California, stating that Niantic is infringing on technology from three patents that have to do with augmented reality in video games such as Pokemon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. The lawsuit was filed on September 4, and Niantic has not publicly commented on the situation.
Nantworks has been working with augmented reality technology since 2011 and is devoted to improving the technology, which covers the patents that the company alleges that Niantic has infringed upon. This legal process is still early in its development, so fans will have to wait to see what happens. Currently, Niantic is preparing for a week long break for its employees so that they can take time for themselves for their mental health and to better equip them to working remotely during the pandemic. There is no work if this recent lawsuit will impact this plan in any way, but it does give the employees another thing to worry about when they return to work.
Hopefully this lawsuit will not influence the augmented reality that gamers have come to expect from Niantic and its games. With fans eager to see improvements to systems such as Mega Energy in Pokemon GO, Niantic may have to focus some more of its resources to the lawsuit. Niantic has revolutionized augmented reality in the video gaming space, and many hope that this company will be able to continue its work in this sphere.
Source: Bloomberg Law