BROOKLINE, Mass., Nov. 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Worlds Inc. (OTCQB:WDDD) has reached an agreement with holders of $750,000 in promissory notes to roll over the notes with accrued interest until March 2019 or a settlement on patent litigation is reached, whichever comes sooner.  This rollover was done without dilution.  For the immediate future, Worlds will fund operations through sale of its shares in MariMed Inc. in an orderly manner into the market.

“This rollover accommodation by our noteholders, who are also shareholders, is in the best interest of all shareholders, as it removes all defaulted notes from our SEC filings, and does so without dilution,” said Thom Kidrin, Worlds CEO.  ”Our noteholders’ agreement to rollover their notes on reasonable terms is a testament to their belief in the long term outcome of our patent infringement litigation against Activision/Blizzard as well as their belief in the ultimate value of our patent portfolio.”

“We hope to have a ruling on our Inter Partes Review (IPR) appeal by spring 2018,” Kidrin noted.  “We plan to actively pursue additional litigation as well as continue our current litigation against Activision /Blizzard,” Kidrin noted. 

Worlds has filed an appeal brief to recent Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) rulings with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding Worlds’ seminal technology that has been fundamental to the development of massively multiplayer online role-playing gaming (MMORPG) into a $20-billion dollar industry.

“We believe there is substantial evidence to support the validity of numerous patent claims that we were originally awarded, but were subsequently invalidated by the PTAB,” Kidrin explained.  “Furthermore, according to matters of law, we believe that the PTAB’s Inter Partes Review reached an incorrect decision related to Bungie Inc.’s naming of all real parties-in-interest and in their challenge to the validity of out patent portfolio at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).” 

The previous validation of six claims by the USPTO PTAB enables Worlds to resume its case against Activision Blizzard et al. However Worlds believes an appeal and possible reversal of a number of the invalidity rulings will strengthen its case against Activision Blizzard when the case resumes.  Therefore, Worlds has continued the stay of its Activision/Blizzard et al litigation pending a final outcome of the IPR appeal process.

More information on the lawsuit and Worlds’ patents can be found on the Worlds.com website.

About Worlds Inc.:
Worlds Inc. is a leading intellectual property developer and licensee of patents related to 3D online virtual worlds. The Company has a portfolio of 10 US patents for multi-server technology for 3D applications. The earliest of these patents issued on an application filed November 12, 1996.  A provisional patent application, serial number 60/020,296, was filed on November 13, 1995.  These patents are related to each other and disclose and claim systems and methods for enabling users to interact in a virtual space. Visit www.Worlds.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to Worlds Inc. that are based on the beliefs of Worlds’ management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events including estimates and projections about its business based on certain assumptions of its management, including those described in this Release. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Additional risk factors are included in the Company’s public filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as “hoped,” “anticipated,” “believed,” “estimated,” “should,” “preparing,” “expected” or words of a similar nature. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS:
Media Relations: 
Julie Shepherd, Accentuate PR, 847-275-3643, [email protected]