Microsoft is currently defending itself in an Xbox Live patent infringement case.

In 1994, Peter Hochstein and Jeffrey Tenenbaum patented a technology that allowed users to communicate live while playing the same game in separate locations. Specifically, the patent in question is for an “apparatus and method for electrically connecting remotely located videogames,” reports Patent Arcade.

Eight years later Microsoft released Xbox Live, while Sony launched an online gaming service for PS2.

In the suit - originally filed against the hardware makers in August 2004 - the plaintiffs alleged that both systems’ voice and data communications technology infringed on their patent. They sought a permanent injunction and damages.

Sony settled its suit in April 2009, leaving Microsoft as the sole remaining defendant.