Gibson 'Guitar Hero' suit thrown out
Summary
Topics
Looking back, 2008 was a litigious year for Guitar manufacturer Gibson. Three years after a 2005 deal with Activision to have licensed the use of its guitars in Guitar Hero games, the Nashville-based instrument maker went after the Santa Monica-based game publisher in court.
Gibson's lawsuit contended that Guitar Hero's mock guitars--modeled on actual Gibson axes under license--infringed on a patent it registered in 1999 for "technology for simulating a musical performance." So adamant was the six-string supplier about its claims that it threatened legal action in a Tennessee court against retailers who sold Guitar Hero games and against Electronic Arts and MTV over Rock Band's faux guitar.
After the original filing last March, Activision quickly asked the US District Court of Central California to throw out Gibson's suit and prevent the guitar maker from seeking damages. Last Thursday, the court did exactly that, summarily dismissing the contention that Guitar Hero violated U.S. Patent No. 5,990,405, which Gibson holds.
"No reasonable person of ordinary skill in the relevant arts would interpret the '405 Patent as covering interactive video games," wrote Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer in a stern ruling obtained by GameSpot. "Gibson would have this Court determine that any device that controls something that produces musical sounds is covered by the '405 Patent."
The Tennessee motions also appear doomed, as they had been stayed pending the outcome of Judge Pfaelzer's decision.
This article was originally posted on GameSpot.
Talkback Most Recent of 18 Talkback(s)
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Good!
Nice to see the courts make a good call once in a while.
Dr_Zinj4th Mar 2009 -
amazing, athough...
Even a blind monkey trips over a banana every now and then.
RebelFlag4th Mar 2009 -
RE: Gibson 'Guitar Hero' suit thrown out
Just a case of greed by Gibson, when they signed on they probably thought it was a flash in the pan. Only later when it proved popular they had "sellers remorse" and wanted more.
geoff@...4th Mar 2009 -
RE: Gibson 'Guitar Hero' suit thrown out
Wouldn't life be grand if our individual greed disguised as prudent business practices wasn't so pervasive? Can you say no economic meltdown?
EricinOly4th Mar 2009 -
Mercutio_Viz4th Mar 2009 -
so as long as it looks like a game it's ok to viaolate a patent on music
simulator tech.
no judge should have the power of summary execution of a patent like this.
Gibson should appeal.
keep midi alive!!!
.
wessonjoe6th Mar 2009 -
You need to read the story
It was NOT a patent on music.
It was a patent on simulated musical performances... which is probably the dumbest patent ever awarded.
Games such as Guitar Hero, pay fees to use music in their games.
In fact, I would argue that games such as Guitar Hero have actually increased the demand for the real thing. I say this, because that's exactly what happened with my son. After becoming an expert on Guitar Hero (completing "Stairway to Heaven" on "Expert"!!!), he now has 2 electric guitars and plays on our church worship bands. He wants to go into the music industry.
The people at Gibson have lost their minds.
dominigan9th Apr 2009 -
Ok.. so they call it a Bigson or Gib$on ??
Who gives a hoot? It's a bloody great game and I don't care that my plastic guitar looks like a gibson, fender, whatever.
It's a game with a mock guitar look-alike thing with no strings and some buttons. Gibson should have the sense to accept the ruling and accept the free publicity the game provides.
Personally I would dump the name and ask one of their competitors if they can use theirs from now on. Gibson; hang your greedy heads in shame.
GetReal-mac.com9th Apr 2009 -
RE: Gibson 'Guitar Hero' suit thrown out
GIBSON RINGER !!!!
JOHN_TUOHY9th Apr 2009 -
I doubt this is over yet.......
Yeah I'd say Gibson should have acted earlier. I read the patent and I'm thinking the '405 patent substantially anticipates the concept of Guitar Hero (and Rock Band too!). Watch for an appeal or settlement.....or maybe they'll just jack up the royalty on the Gibson look alike.
Colfax_Mac9th Apr 2009 -
The problem is
The problem is as long as there is no punishment meted out (to the companies and lawyers) for lodging stupid lawsuits, they will keep lodging them.
They were just trying to extort money from Activision and games retailers.
It should be a crime to use the legal process for extortion.
lehnerus
lehnerus20009th Apr 2009 -
Good thing, too..
Because then the legitimate lawsuits wouldn't get filed, and the big guys like Apple, Microsoft, Activision and (yes) Gibson would have no incentive at all to respect the intellectual property of others.
daftkey7th Jul 2009 -
I doubt this is over???
The real issue here is that, even IF the 405 patent "anticipates the concept of Guitar Hero", Gibson never REDUCED IT TO PRACTICE. They never built it, wrote it, marketed it, etc. Otherwise, there would be Gibson Guitar Hero (or some other name) on the shelves in competition with Guitar Hero, and THEN Gibson would have a case of patent infringement.
Sorry to say, for all of the good Henry J, the CEO has done in rescuing Gibson and Wurlitzer from oblivion, he is an attorney, and not IMO a real inventor. Despite his many patent filings, few if any of which have been built and put on the market.
This is where the patent system falls down: they no longer really require building what you patent, leaving the patent system and the marketplace at the mercy of "patent trolls".
destockwell7th Jul 2009 -
Luckily it doesn't matter..
It's this same tired old argument from people who don't really know much about inventing anything.. "patents are to protect things that are built".. they aren't.. They are intended to protect property that is invented, so that it can be easily marketed to someone who can build it.
Luckily for the majority of "real" inventors out there (you know, the ones with innovative ideas, but without the means to make them a reality) you don't have to own a factory to get a patent. You want to stifle innovation, make inventing solely the business of the big guys in the world (Apple, IBM, Microsoft, Activision, Gibson, Ford, GE, etc) - because what you propose would do exactly that.daftkey7th Jul 2009 -
RE: Idiots
If Gibson were smart, rather than kill the golden goose, they should exploit the license further, get the faux guitars to look just like real Les Paul's; perhaps offer a premium controller that is a minature dead ringer for the real thing. I know people that would buy them and hang them on their walls. It is a great promotional medium. As it is now, Activision should switch to Fender Telecaster look-alikes.
JGH597th May 2009
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