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Gibson Guitar Hero case thrown out

Complaint against Activision is borderline "frivolous"
A court has thrown out Gibson Guitar's suit against Activision that claimed the game maker infringed on music-related patents with the Guitar Hero series.

Gibson claimed last year that Activision infringed on U.S. Patent 5,990,405, titled "System and method for generating and controlling a simulated musical concert experience." The patent describes an invention where a user wears a head-mounted 3D display and stereo speakers in order to play a real musical instrument along with a simulated musical concert.

After Activision filed a declaratory judgment complaint of non-infringement, the court highlighted a major problem with Gibson's claims: There are no real instruments used in Guitar Hero.

"As a general observation, no reasonable person of ordinary skill in the relevant arts would interpret the '405 Patent as covering interactive videogames."

As reported by IP Trademark Attorney blog, Gibson's own music expert said real musical instruments convey sounds that implement pitch and timbre. Guitar Hero's controllers, including Guitar Hero World Tour's drumset, do not have those characteristics, the court said.

Guitar Hero also does not utilize a 3D headset.

The court added, "Gibson's doctrine of equivalents arguments border on the frivolous."

Activision licensed the use of the Gibson brand and products in its Guitar Hero games.

Article supplied by Edge-Online

computerandvideogames.com
// Interactive
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Posted by svd_grasshopper
chancer.

hope he spunked all his savings on this hoping to get a mega payout. idiot.
Posted by Ganja_Ninja
I love the gibson les paul, but damn.. owned.
Posted by kimoak
Oh come on Gibson! I expected better from you... although I am not sure why.
Posted by ParmaViolet
You'd think they didn't make enough out of those 'Clapton Crossroads' ES-335's they were selling a few years back (at £10,000 a pop)...I love Gibsons, but I've never really understood exactly why they are so expensive compared to other manufacturers. Sure, they sound amazing - but, so do a lot of others.

Just stick to the guitars Gibson...it's what you're best at.

:)
Posted by falloutwarchief
The headline makes it sound like someone had a Gibson branded Guitar Hero controller case, and threw it out.

Zip must have been broken or something. *ba-dum tish* :P

I just groaned at my own joke. Bad sign. Posting it anyway though. Just you try and stop me.
Posted by nb_nmare2
We're always seeing stories about companies suing each other over patents, but it's exceptionally rare indeed that we actual hear about the outcome of one of these cases.

So bravo CVG for actually bucking the trend for once!
Read all 6 commentsPost a Comment
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