PokerStars attorneys are taking over the Rush Poker patent case from Full Tilt Poker lawyers. The shift is just one more sign of the rapid pace of events as PokerStars assumes control of the troubled Poker site.
At issue is Full Tilt’s attempts to patent the workings of its Rush Poker product. Rush works on a relatively new concept that involves plucking players from the Cloud to form tables for a single hand.
Because is its fast pace, Rush has proven to be a good fit for smart phone users and is becoming very popular. That’s made protecting the patent a very valuable prospect.
Never Patentable
Full Tilt’s chief rival in this market sector is InstaDeal, a small poker network. InstaDeeal CEO Per Hildebrand says that patents on the product are simply unenforceable.
Hildebrand recently told EGR magazine (subscription required), “…even from the start, as FTP only met one of the three criteria required to be granted a patent.”
Asking for a Delay
PokerStars attorneys are asking the judge in the case to postpone arguments while the new lawyers get up to speed. As it stands, oral arguments in the case are scheduled for October 22. Full Tilt’s relaunch, under the PokerStars’ umbrella, is scheduled for the beginning of November.
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