Activision Blizzard has won a lawsuit that had been filed by Worlds Incorporated for nine years.

Worlds Incorporated, the self-described "primary intellectual property developer and licensee of patents relating to 3D online virtual worlds," originally sued Activision Blizzard in 2012 for infringing five patents. These patents covered "systems and methods for enabling users to interact in virtual space," essentially claiming in the lawsuit that they invented avatars, 3D multiplayer, and the ability to interact with other players in 3D space (thanks to PCGamesN).

Worlds Incorporated specifically named World of Warcraft and Call of Duty as the main culprits and demanded Activision Blizzard stop the infringement.

Activision Blizzard retaliated with a small lawsuit in 2013, arguing that it could not patent something as vague as 3D multiplayer or a system for filtering players in a 3D environment (via GamesIndustry).

The court ultimately sided with Activision last month, stating that World Incorporated's patent was an "abstract idea" and that the general steps described in their patent "provide no inventive concept for transforming an abstract idea into a patent-eligible process."

While not quite a litigation battle like Epic or Apple, it certainly took a load off Activision Blizzard's shoulders. The company has recently been sued over its Modern Warfare character Mara, as well as by a web game called Warzone.