In the United States, patents are issued only in the name of the inventor. However, most companies require their employees whose work may be patentable to agree in advance to assign all their patent rights to the company.
The following patents are from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Database which show Atari as the Assignee. The PDF files are via http://www.pat2pdf.org/, which is a free service. Otherwise, creating PDF files directly from the USPTO Database is a major PIA.
Notes about patent numbers:1. Patent numbers that begin with 'D' are Design Patents and cover only the appearance of the invention.
2. Patent numbers that begin with a number are Utility Patents that cover the functionality of the invention.
3. Patent numbers that begin with 'RE' are Reissued patents, where the inventor decided to revise the claims of an already issued patent or correct significant errors in the specification.
The early patents are to Atari, Inc. when Atari was one company. First there was Coin-Op, and then there was Coin-Op and Consumer.
When Atari went supernova the company was split up. Consumer went to the Tramiel Family and became Atari Corporation, Inc. Coin-op became Atari Games Corporation, Inc.and went through several hands. (This is not a history of Atari except through its patents.)
In reading a patent, bear in mind that the Claims are what legally define the invention. The purpose of the Specification is to support and interpret the Claims.
Just because something is in the Specification doesn't mean the Inventor is claiming to have invented it.
It's the Claims that define the invention.
Also, don't think you know what the invention is by reading the Abstract. The purpose of the Abstract is mainly to provide search terms.
And, finally, a standard disclaimer.
I am not a Patent Attorney or a Patent Agent. This information is being provided as a public service to those interested in the historical aspects of video games. Nothing here should be construed as legal advice.
If you are interested in learning more about patents, there is a great deal of it on the USPTO Web Site.
Another good source is David Pressman's Patent It Yourself from Nolo Press. The information is useful even if you have a patent attorney.
Jed Margolin 1/8/2001, 7/5/2004, 10/24/2011
001
3,793,483 Video image positioning control system
for amusement device
(This appears to be Nolan Bushnell's first video game patent)
006 4,016,362 Multiple image positioning control system and method
007 4,045,789 Animated video image display system and method012 4,071,697 Interactive video/telephone transmission system
014 4,075,621 Hand held communication aid for the dumb
015 4,081,829 Audio activated video display
017 D247,746 Hand held control unit021 4,099,092 Television display alignment system and method
022 4,099,719 System and method for automatic alignment of gun with video display
024 4,104,625 Apparatus for providing facial image animation
026 4,107,642 Potentiometer joystick031 D250,264 Electronic control cabinet
033 D250,606 Game control console036 4,130,830 Method and apparatus for homogeneous exposure of video display screen
038 D250,666 Game cabinet042 4,133,530 Game table for booth installation
043 4,139,863 Chroma generation system
044 D251,143 Game control console
045 4,139,968 Puppet-like apparatus052 4,164,759 Voltage controlled oscillator
053 4,165,072 Method of operating a video game
054 D252,753 Video game cartridge assembly
055 4,167,019 Video image generator
056 D252,926 Game control console
058 4,169,272 Apparatus for simulating a perspective view of a video image and for storing such image with a minimum number of bits059 D253,061 Submarine amusement game cabinet
061 4,174,836 Game for simulating submarine conning station062 4,180,267 Ball rollover switch assembly
063 4,189,145 Apparatus for continuous rotation simulation of video images065 4,190,252 Multiple drop target assembly for amusement game066 4,192,507 Light actuated shooting arcade game
067 4,193,108 Apparatus for securely fastening a circuit board to a circuit board edge connector068 D254,544 Video game control unit
069 4,200,780 Control assembly with rotating disc cover for sliding control
070 D255,565 Video game control unit
071 4,214,360 Method of making a radio frequency oscillator-modulator with ground metallization072 D257,560 Hand held communication aid for the mute and hearing impaired
073 4,235,438 Pinball game spinning target
074 4,244,574 Pinball machine with conical playfield
075 4,253,090 Contactless ball shooter apparatus for pinball game076 4,275,611 Joystick controller
077 D260,881 Memory module housing
078 4,296,476 Data processing system with programmable graphics generator079 D261,644 Memory module housing
080 4,299,446 Compound anamorphic mirror and frame for off-axis reflected image modification
081 4,301,473 Method and apparatus for video signal resolution enhancement
083 4,314,236 Apparatus for producing a plurality of audio sound effects085 4,319,099 Dome switch having contacts offering extended wear086 D263,472 Floppy disk housing
087 4,324,401 Method and system for generating moving objects on a video display screen
088 4,337,444 Radio frequency oscillator-modulator circuit090 4,339,778 Dual floppy disc machine
091 4,349,708 Joystick control
092 4,368,515 Bank switchable memory system
093 4,372,007 Releaseable hinge mechanism
094 4,375,585 Deformable switch keyboard
095 D268,689 Remote control unit for electronic game
096 D269,087 Image game cartridge
097 4,388,620 Method and apparatus for generating elliptical images on a raster-type video display098 4,404,629 Data processing system with latch for sharing instruction fields
099 D271,311 Video game console
100 D271,312 Video game controller
101 D271,313 Video game controller
102 D271,891 Video game console
103 4,421,317 Electronic game apparatus using a three-dimensional image
104 4,423,870 Video game collision detection system
106 D272,342 Cartridge for video game unit
107 4,432,067 Memory cartridge for video game system111 4,445,114 Apparatus for scrolling a video display
112 4,451,900 Method and apparatus for text editing display
113 4,459,578 Finger control joystick utilizing Hall effect
114 4,467,412 Slave processor with clock controlled by internal ROM & master processor115 4,469,330 Controller unit for video game
116 4,471,463 Data processing system with programmable graphics generator118 4,471,465 Video display system with multicolor graphics selection
119 D277,155 Display unit for a video game system or the like
120 4,496,936 Digital-analog conversion for shaft encoders
122 4,807,886 Amusement game with dispensed targets
123 4,862,156 Video computer system including multiple graphics controllers and associated method
124 4,875,459 Gattling-like gun
125 4,905,168 Object processing for video system using slips and linked list126 4,930,074 Multiple stamp motion objects in a video game system
127 4,949,119 Gearshift for a vehicle simulator using computer controlled realistic real world forces128 4,960,117 Rear entry booth and seat for a sit-down video game
129 4,969,647 Invertible hand-held electronic game apparatus
130 4,970,690 Memory cell arrangement supporting bit-serial arithmetic131 4,988,892 Method and circuit for generating dependent clock signals
132 4,992,631 Multi-directional switch assembly
133 5,005,148 Driving simulator with moving painted dashboard
134 D318,073 Driving video game cabinet135 D318,273 Video game cartridge
136 5,044,956 Control device such as a steering wheel for video vehicle simulator with realistic feedback forces137 D320,624 Hand-held electronic game apparatus housing
139 5,116,051 Strain gauge pressure-sensitive video game control
140 5,154,313 Modular ticket storage tray
141 5,197,003 Gearshift for a vehicle simulator having a solenoid for imposing a resistance force142 5,203,563 Shaker control device
143 5,235,677 Raster graphics color palette architecture for multiple display objects
144 5,240,417 System and method for bicycle riding simulation
145 D339,577 Game cartridge146 5,269,687 System and method for recursive driver training
147 5,275,565 Modular display simulator and method148 5,286,024 System for sensing the position of a joystick
149 5,299,810 Vehicle simulator including cross-network feedback
150 5,354,202 System and method for driver training with multiple driver competition
151 5,363,119 Scaling processor for raster images
152 5,364,271 Bicycle and motorcycle riding simulation system
153 5,366,376 Driver training system and method with performance data feedback
154 5,368,484 Vehicle simulator with realistic operating feedback
155 D355,879 Steering wheel configuration
156 5,415,549 Method for coloring a polygon on a video display157 5,435,554 Baseball simulation system
158 5,474,453 Scenario development system for vehicle simulators161 5,573,402 System and method for coloring polygon using dithering
162 5,577,913 System and method for driver training with multiple driver competition
163 5,607,308 Vehicle simulator with realistic operating feedback
164 5,607,356 Interactive game film
165 5,616,031 System and method of shadowing an object in motion
166 5,618,178 Vehicle simulator with low frequency sound feedback
167 5,618,179 Driver training system and method with performance data feedback
168 5,621,431 Animation system having variable video display rate169 5,660,547 Scenario development system for vehicle simulators
170 5,681,043 Compression actuated game or simulation apparatus
171 D421,070 Electronic video game console