Scarface
04-10-2008, 11:57 PM
Gibson Guitar has told Activision that its wildly popular Guitar Hero video games infringe one of Gibson's patents, and Activision has asked a U.S. court to find the claim invalid.
Gibson said the games, in which players press buttons on a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a TV screen, violates a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance.
On Tuesday, Activision filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for Central California to declare Gibson's patent invalid and to bar it from seeking damages.
Gibson made its claims in a letter sent to Activision in January, a copy of which was included in Activision's lawsuit.
Activision shares closed down 1.14 percent at $26.82 on Nasdaq on Wednesday.
The Guitar Hero series has sold more than 14 million units in North America and raked in more than $1 billion since its 2005 debut.
Gibson, whose electric guitars are used by legendary blues and rock artists such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and Slash, has been a high-profile partner in the Guitar Hero games, with Activision licensing the rights to model its controllers on Gibson guitar models and to use their likenesses in the game.
Activision said its games did not infringe Gibson's patent, and that by waiting three years to raise its claim, the guitar maker had granted an implied license for any technology.
SOURCE:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6234139.html?tag=nl.e550
Gibson said the games, in which players press buttons on a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a TV screen, violates a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance.
On Tuesday, Activision filed a lawsuit asking the U.S. District Court for Central California to declare Gibson's patent invalid and to bar it from seeking damages.
Gibson made its claims in a letter sent to Activision in January, a copy of which was included in Activision's lawsuit.
Activision shares closed down 1.14 percent at $26.82 on Nasdaq on Wednesday.
The Guitar Hero series has sold more than 14 million units in North America and raked in more than $1 billion since its 2005 debut.
Gibson, whose electric guitars are used by legendary blues and rock artists such as Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and Slash, has been a high-profile partner in the Guitar Hero games, with Activision licensing the rights to model its controllers on Gibson guitar models and to use their likenesses in the game.
Activision said its games did not infringe Gibson's patent, and that by waiting three years to raise its claim, the guitar maker had granted an implied license for any technology.
SOURCE:
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6234139.html?tag=nl.e550