As it prepares for the re-launch of the new Full Tilt Poker next month, PokerStarsis stepping into another fight, this one over the patent rights to speed poker games. The speed poker phenomenon began in 2010 when the original Full Tilt Poker introduced Rush Poker. The software, which would immediately move a player to a new table upon folding a hand rather than wait for that hand to finish, was an immediate hit with players, as they could maximize their time at the tables by not having to sit through the conclusion of every hand.

In theory, players could log several hundred hands per hour and, if the player was really efficient, he could multi-table this setup to garner thousands of hands per session.

After the debut of Rush Poker, other online poker sites began to develop their own speed poker formats. Companies like Relax Gaming (Fast Poker), Microgaming (Blaze Poker), PartyPoker (FastForward), and the iPoker Network (Speed Hold’em) introduced their own versions of Rush Poker. Earlier this year, PokerStars even joined in on the speed poker craze when it introduced Zoom Poker.

Full Tilt Poker filed a patent infringement lawsuit claiming the intellectual property for its speed poker software had been trampled on. A patent claim entitled “Player-Entry Assignment and Ordering” was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in January 2011 from two developers, John Davidson and Darse Billings of Pocket Kings Limited. The departure of Full Tilt Poker from the online poker industry approximately eight months following the application seemingly ended any debate on the issue.

Now with ownership of Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars is looking to enforce the lawsuit that Full Tilt Poker began over the speed poker software. According to Casino Scam Report, PokerStars attorney Paul Telford stated, “Together with our patent attorneys, we are undertaking a full analysis of the Rush Poker patent applications we have acquired. When the time is right, it is our intention to use these patents to protect the inventive elements of the Rush and Zoom products.” These protective measures could be used to force other outlets to cease employing their speed poker software.

There is a great deal of discussion as to whether the patent is active. Per Hildebrand, Chief Executive Officer of the Instadeal Network, has stated in the past that the speed poker patent is “simply unenforceable” and also wonders why PokerStars would choose this point in time to pursue the case. “The funny part,” Hildebrand said, “is that their lawyers once must have concluded that the product is not patent-able. They launched Zoom and now want to argue it is.”

Prior to the Black Friday, it was estimated by PokerScout that one in every four hands of online poker took place on a speed poker table. PokerScout also calculated that, once PokerStars introduced Zoom Poker, the site’s cash game traffic escalated by 50%. If the move by PokerStars to enforce the speed poker patent is granted, companies could stand to lose millions of dollars from the departure of such tables from their sites.