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OnLive claims cloud-based games patent

Will it sue Gaikai?

Steve Perlman, CEO of OnLive, reckons he's secured the patent on cloud-based games.

Cloud-based gaming services allow users to play their favourite titles using a broadband internet connection. It eliminates the need for PCs, games consoles and discs because data is processed on distant servers.

The patent covers a "breakthrough" technology where videogames run on remote servers in data centers and users with a broadband-connected device can instantly play them.

It is one of hundreds the company has filed relating to cloud-based gaming, Perlman told VentureBeat.

U.S. patent No. 7,849,491 listed Perlman himself as the inventor when it was originally filed in December 2002. It applies to "apparatus for video gaming includes a box having a slot with an interface that connects to a game card providing a platform to run a software videogame".

The patent was granted last week.

The question now is, will Perlman threaten rivals such as David Perry's Gaikai with lawsuits?

Perlman declined to comment on that subject, but he did say he has a history of trying to work out agreements and has never sued anyone for patent infringement, even though he personally has more than 100 patents.

The OnLive Game Service was released to the public in June of 2010 on PC and Mac, and on the TV and iPad in December of 2010. An Android version is currently in beta.