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Gibson Accuses Guitar Hero of Patent Violation

Posted by samzenpus on from the karaoke-crack-down dept.

robipilot writes "Video game publisher Activision Inc. has asked a federal court to declare that its popular "Guitar Hero" game does not violate a patent held by real-guitar maker Gibson Guitar Corp. Gibson's 1999 patent covers a virtual-reality device that included a headset with speakers that simulated participating in a concert, according to a complaint filed on Tuesday by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Activision in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles."

3 of 192 comments (clear)

  1. From the patent..."audio" signal. by ILuvSP · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From the patent...

    1. A system for electronically simulating participation by a user in a pre-recorded musical performance comprising:

    a. a musical instrument, the musical instrument generating an instrument audio signal at an instrument audio output, the instrument audio signal varying in response to operation of the instrument by the user of the system;
    The guitars from Guitar Hero do not produce "audio" signal at an "instrument audio output". They are not musical instruments. I think Gibson is reaching here!
  2. Re:Crucify me, baby by Gr8Apes · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This looks like a classic poster boy for bad patents: the abstract indicates that Guitar Hero doesn't violate anything. First off, they explictly state musician. Guitar Hero players? Not hardly. Second, they state musical instrument. I don't think 4 buttons counts as an instrument. There are also no 3-D head gear, nor headphones involved.

    If you start reading the claims, the entire thing falls apart at every level. First off - there's no instrument, and certainly no audio signal generated by the Guitar Hero "guitar", which appears to be the crux of their patent. Then again, IANAIP/PL (IP/Patent Lawyer).

    I'm not even sure what exactly they're patenting here. There's no "System" that I can see, other than a very high level concept drawing and what looks like a basic high level distortion processor schematic. I was under the impression that "methods" like the abstract idea being described could not be patented.

    --
    The cesspool just got a check and balance.
  3. Re:Patenting games by cizoozic · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Couldn't the cases be made that:
    • Guitar Hero has been out for years, what were they just waiting to see if there was some money to be made from a suit?
    • The game is crammed full of Gibson everything, I mean the guitar store looks more like a Gibson Factory Store than a Guitar Center. I mean who knew what a Firebird VII even was before Guitar Hero? There can't be that many Johnny Winter fans out there.
    Sorry, I know these are common sense arguments, so they probably have no place in a patent discussion.