Starbright World
Starbright World was an online community for children with chronic illnesses established in 1995. Initially conceived as a 3D
Virtual world
The planning for Starbright World began in 1993. The project was organized by the Starbright Foundation, a charity headed by
Players accessed Starbright World through terminals connected to a private
The technology, though advanced for the time, was not without issues. An editor for the
Later history
Starbright World was relaunched in July 1998 as a social network including message boards, chat rooms, videoconferencing and games.[8] It was initially accessible only through a private network installed in hospitals; by 2000, 80 American hospitals were using the program.[6] Later versions could be accessed from home.[9] Several clinical trials evaluated the effect of the social network on patients' symptoms and quality of life.[10][11] The website is no longer operational.
In the 2000s, Worlds Inc. claimed that they held the rights to the concept of multiplayer virtual worlds based on patents relating to Starbright World. This led them to file lawsuits against several MMO companies.[12] A lawsuit against Activision Blizzard was dismissed in 2021, when a US district court ruled that "Worlds' patents were abstract ideas that were not sufficiently transformative to be legally patentable."[13]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e McCarthy, Susan (September 1, 1996). "The Good Deed". Wired. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ a b "Starbright World by Tamiko Thiel". Archive of Digital Art. Archived from the original on July 25, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ New York Times. Archivedfrom the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ "Worlds Inc. in premiere of Starbright World network". Business Wire (Press release). 1995.
- ^ a b "Starbright World". Rhizome.org. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ a b Attanasio, Nick (December 13, 2000). "Starbright Universe grows". Variety. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Deck, Stewart (June 9, 1997). "1997 Computerworld Smithsonian Awards". Computerworld. Vol. 31, no. 23. p. 87 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ S2CID 144002942.
- ^ Coon, Conny (August 25, 2016). "Starbright World". Common Sense Media. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-60623-375-7.
- S2CID 24827449.
- ^ Kee, Tameka (March 11, 2009). "Worlds.com To Activision, Linden Lab: 'Pay Up Or Face A Lawsuit For Patent Infringement'". CBS News. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.
- ^ Boudreau, Ian (May 5, 2021). "After nine years, judge throws out WoW patent lawsuit". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on January 18, 2022. Retrieved February 11, 2022.