Ok, I just read the full patent, and I don''t think online gaming has anything to worry about. The patent is not on 3D online worlds, it''s on 3D online world CHAT system. It''s a way that you can "talk to your neighbor (in the 3D world) and not be over-whelmed listening to every person talking -- hence scalable as part of the title. Most games don''t work this way. Games like Unreal Tournament and doom, you speak and everyone, everyone on your team, or a single person, hears your message - regardless of their location in the world. ( I haven''t played everyquest, so I don''t know how they do it). If the argument is made that an online game is actually a "room" according to the patent, the you have games like doom as prior work. The problem with this patent is it spends most of it''s time talking about things that I don''t THINK are covered in the patent. It talks about movement in the 3D world, well VRML is a presedant if the patent is claiming that. I''m not a lawyer or anything (I would have to kill myself if I were), but I don''t think the gaming industry has much to worry about here. I think presendant will kill any lawsuits. That''s the neat thing about games and the cutting edge, we use things long before anyone with a lawyer does.

Why would you kill yourself if you were a lawyer? Its the greatest job ever. You thought the government makes the laws? Hah!