Agincourt Gaming filed suit against Zynga over two patents related to credits-based online gaming and a prize redemption system based on the outcome of game play.  According to a press release issued by plaintiff counsel Susman Godfrey, “Agincourt, a recent entrant into the social gaming space, owns foundational patents that claim priority back to 1996 and cover the processes for credits-based online gaming and a prize redemption system based on the outcome of game play.  The company, which owns and operates an online game called Pantheon, is uniquely positioned to profit from the enormous market potential for the sale of virtual goods. ‘Agincourt’s patents cover the most lucrative aspects of online social gaming – including those comprising the bulk of Zynga’s revenues – as they contain the crucial ‘link’ that allows for global, interactive prize redemption over the Internet,’ said Bill Carmody, a senior partner at Susman Godfrey, Agincourt’s lead counsel.  According to PTO records, the patents were most recently assigned to Bally Gaming in an assignment recorded in November 2010.  No mention of Agincourt Gaming appears in any news or Web sources prior to the filing of this suit.  It’s possible that the commericial entity was established to monetize the patents.  8/17, District of Delaware, 1:2011cv00720.