At MTVNews.com today we have a report about "Rock Revolution" publisher Konami's recent lawsuit against the makers of "Rock Band." Konami alleges that MTV-owned development studio Harmonix has been infringing on three Konami patents.
In my report, MTV PR provides comment about the legal action:
"Konami's actions are extremely surprising," an MTV spokesperson said of the suit. "Unfortunately, successful products such as 'Rock Band' can often become targets for baseless litigation. We have substantial defenses to this claim and intend to vigorously defend it."
Read the full story: 'Rock Band' Creators Sued By 'Rock Revolution' Publisher Konami
(Full disclosure: While "Rock Band" is published by MTV, we cover it at MTV News and MTV Multiplayer with same standards we cover all other video games.)
"Rock Band" developers Harmonix have responded to Gibson Guitar Corporation's lawsuit accusing the MTV/EA/Harmonix game of patent infringement:
"This lawsuit is completely without merit and we intend to defend it vigorously," the Harmonix statement reads. "Gibson's patent, filed nearly 10 years ago, required a 3D display, a real musical instrument and a recording of a concert. Rock Band and Guitar Hero are completely different: among other things they are games, require no headset and use a controller only shaped like a real instrument. It is unfortunate that Gibson unfairly desires to share in the tremendous success enjoyed by the developers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero."
(For more on how Gibson compares its patent with "Guitar Hero," check out the manufacturer's nine-page chart re-printed in this earlier Multiplayer post.)
When Activision filed suit against Gibson Guitar Corporation on March 11, the game-maker included a nine-page chart that breaks down how "Guitar Hero" allegedly does infringe on a 1999 patent.
Why would Activision include that?
Probably because the company feels that the chart does not make a convincing argument.
The Gibson Patent Vs "Guitar Hero" comparison chart was included in a February 18 letter sent by Gibson's lawyer to Activision's legal team and is now part of Activision's filing. It breaks down the patent vs. game comparison, line by line.
The chart has a lot of this:
Vs
What do you think? Do all the arguments in the chart hold up? Judge for yourself.
The full point-by-point breakdown, in nine-page chart form, follows below.
Read more...
(Below is part of a story filed, in full, at MTVNews.com about the lawsuits filed against each other by Gibson Guitar and the makers of "Guitar Hero")
...The [Activision lawsuit against Gibson] may surprise the many "Guitar Hero" fans who have played the game, because to do so requires holding officially licensed replica Gibson guitars. It would have seemed these two companies got along: The guitars for the first "Guitar Hero" games were modeled from Gibson SGs, the Xbox 360 version of "Guitar Hero II" included a replica Gibson X-Plorer, and the controller for "Guitar Hero III" is based on Gibson Les Paul.
It seems, however, that Activision isn't interested in Gibson guitars appearing in future "Guitar Hero" games; a letter submitted as evidence as part of Activision's suit suggests that any Activision-Gibson guitar deal is dead. In fact, Activision claims that is the reason for Gibson's complaint.
In a March 10 letter to Gibson's attorney, Activision lawyer Mary Tuck wrote: "As I indicated previously, Gibson knew about the Guitar Hero games for nearly three years, but did not raise it's [sic] patent until it became clear that Activision was not interesting [sic] in renewing the License and Marketing Support Agreement. Gibson's delay suggests that its infringement assertions are not being made in good faith, and it has provided no justification for its conduct."
For the rest of this story, check out MTVNews.com.
(Below is the beginning of a report filed at MTVNews.com.)
When the Texas gamers couldn't get online to play "Call of Duty 4" or "Halo 3" on their Xbox 360s last December, they decided to sue.
In a class action lawsuit filed January 4, gamers Keith Kay, Orlando Perez and Shannon Smith claim that they and millions of other users of Xbox Live suffered damages in excess of $5 million.
What kind of person sues over their online gaming service not working? And why haven't Microsoft's announcements that they're fixing the problem not been enough? In his first interview with the press, the plaintiffs' lawyer, Jason Gibson, explained the gamers' side of things to MTV News.
"These are not guys looking to get rich," Gibson said in a telephone interview from Houston yesterday. "They are in their late 20s and 30s. They are college-educated. These are not young kids who just turned 18 and [want] to sue for the fun of it. This is, to them, a real issue."
Read the rest of this story at MTVNews.com
