Pokerstars Receives Fast-fold US Patent

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Tuesday, May 13th, 2014 | Written by Lucy Brown

After surviving multiple wholesale rejections, PokerStars parent company Rational Group has now been issued a “Zoom Poker” patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The patent entitled “Computer Gaming Device and Method for Computer Gaming” was granted on May 20th, and could potentially have wide ranging repercussions for several major online poker sites.

Patent application had been repeatedly rejected

Pokerstars first fast-fold online poker applications dates back to December 2008, but was eventually rejected after being seen as anticipated by an earlier patent by R. Martin Oliveras which enabled players to automatically be transferred from one table to a second as part of its tournament management system.

PokerStars’ then filed numerous patents applications which sought to more accurately define its claimed inventive concepts, all of which were subsequently rejected.

PokerStars acquires rights to Rush Poker

Pokerstars then obtained the right to apply for fast-fold poker patent application 11/316,573 following its settlement deal with the US Department of Justice on July 27th 2012, in which it acquired Full Tilt Poker and all its intellectual property, including Rush Poker, in return for a $731 million forfeiture payment.

This allowed the Rational Group to combine its patent application, and as General Counsel for PokerStars Paul Telford told pokerfuse at the time:

“We are doing a full review of our Rush patent applications and will cross reference these with our existing Zoom patent applications to ensure we have broad protection in the area of “fast fold poker.” If necessary, we will use these patents to protect the inventive elements of the Rush and Zoom products and are working closely with our legal advisors to develop a co-ordinated patent enforcement strategy.”

Re-worded application finally succeeds

After requesting an interview with the USPTO Examiner, PokerStars was able to successfully alter its claims to more accurately reflect the “inventive details” of its Zoom Poker product. Key to the new application’s success was a better description of “folding out of turn”, with the Examiner proposing changing the description to “when gameplay is at a position of another one of the first plurality of players.”

The patent application was also changed to restrict the claim solely to poker card games.

After U.S. Patent No. 8,727,850 was issued to The Rational Group, Denton’s gaming and intellectual property lawyer, Bill Gantz, expressed his surprise numerous previous applications had been rejected over simple terminology related to “folding”, stating: “Everyone knows a fold means you are out of the hand.”

Major fallout of decision

Bill Gantz then signaled some worrying times ahead for online poker operators using The Rational Groups’ now patented fast-fold poker variant, stating:

“The amendments which allowed this patent to issue should seem obvious to the entire poker industry, and there should be ample grounds for vigorously challenging this patent.”

While intellectual property lawyer Bill Gantz says those online poker operators offering fast-fold games outside of the United States will not be affected, the situation inside America’s nascent online poker industry could now suffer some major fallout.

Fast-fold poker has had a major effect on the online poker industry since its introduction, and currently almost all the major online poker rooms have had to introduce their own fast-fold poker variant in order to maintain profits and remain competitive. The innovative variant also has been important in helping the game overcome some of the chief hurdles thrown up by a saturated and ever cut-throat environment, and as top online poker pro Phil Galfond previously explained:

“I used to love my job and love playing. I would sleep well, go to the gym, get food, and sit down and almost always have something to play.. I would focus and have fun playing the game I love, trying to play as best I can. Today, the main skills you need are seat-getting, table-hopping, and altering your sleep schedule to not miss a fish. Playing a 25/50 session hasn’t been fun for me in a over a year.”

US online poker in line of fire

As mentioned, those online poker rooms operating in the USA’s regulated environment are the ones in the front line of fire. Therefore, a company such as Bovada, which continues to offer unlicensed igaming options stateside is unlikely to alter its own fast-fold poker product, Zone Poker.

Meanwhile, amongst those operators who face potentially heavy repercussions in the US are PartyPoker (nj.partypoker.com, BorgataPoker), and 888 Poker, which provides the software for WSOP.com in Nevada and New Jersey, as well as Delaware’s online poker platform. Other poker rooms considering their own version of fast-fold poker will also have to shelve their plans or maybe cut a deal with the patent holder.

PokerStars may currently find itself excluded from the USA’s online poker industry, but the biggest poker room in the world has found itself with yet another ace up its sleeve as it exerts its considerable influence on trying to establish itself once more in the world’s biggest igaming market.