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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | You'd think they'd have learned something from the PRS debacle, but evidently not, and ol' Hank gets his ass kicked one more time.
From a current UK Trade mag....
Patent infringement claims dismissed as game contains no “real musical instruments”
Gibson has seen its lawsuit against Guitar Hero publisher Activision Blizzard thrown out of court after it ruled that Neversoft’s game does not infringe any existing patents. Activision licenses the use of the Gibson brand in its Guitar Hero titles.
This is the second time that Gibson has lost a high profile lawsuit that it instigated, following the loss of the Gibson les Paul versus PRS singlecut case, four years ago.
However, the claim was dismissed as Guitar Hero uses plastic approximations of instruments that do not require musical skill to play. Nor does it utilise a 3D headset.
“Gibson’s doctrine of equivalents arguments border on the frivolous,” the court ruled. “As a general observation, no reasonable person of ordinary skill in the relevant arts would interpret the ‘405 Patent as covering interactive videogames.”
Gibson had claimed its US Patent 5,990,405 for a “system and method for generating and controlling a simulated musical concert experience”. The patent details a head-mounted music system that allows players to play real instruments alongside a simulated concert. |
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October 2008
Posts: 639
Location: NW of Philadelphia | And Gibson wonders why players are opting for "Brand X" Les Paul guitars. It makes me want to get my Bradley fixed even more. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | It's a beautiful thing to see Henry getting kicked like this.
Couldn't happen to a more deserving person. |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Guitar brands are one thing but the music is another. To me Gibson should be happy they are using their moniker (if I spelled that right) in this game. I suppose if I was Fender I would actually want to see the Fender name posted all over those games. It is free advertising to a group of young wannabee guitarists! What better group to sell your product. And I am not in the advertising business...what a bunch of baffoons! I'd bet you'd get a resurgance of Adamas guitar sales if they used an Imiage of Nancy Wilson playing her Slothead. This is a very popular game. My kids play it too.
The music on the other hand is actually being used and I suppose the bands must make a certain royalty payment for the use of a song? Right?
I can tell you the classic rock stuff we do has become requested more and more lately by the younger kids and I think it is this Guitar Hero Game that is singularly responsible for this. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Probably the only reason Gibson sued is because they couldn't work out a royalty liscense agreement that paid them enuf (read Bully them into a Gibson-favorable agreement). So the suit was retalitatory. |
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February 2009
Posts: 119
Location: New York | Northcountry is right on track here. The young kids today know literally hundreds of old rock songs and the artists that play them because of these games. I blink when my 11 year old knows an old song that I can't imagine him hearing on the radio today, then I ask him, Guitar Hero? Yup. He also is learning some of these songs on his fender. An unlooked for positive result of these games. He loves it when his friends can't play a song on Hero, but he can play it on his 6 string. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I hope Gibby had to pay both sets of lawyers. |
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July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | Good news!! |
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December 2001
Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I think the suit did what it was supposed to, like many suits...
The word "Gibson" appears 13 times (including this one) within just 9 posts, on just this one topic of this one forum, which will be seen by over 1000 people within the next 24 hours, and many thousands more as time goes by. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | No effect here... I still won't buy one. |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | I want to invent a new game....ACOUSTIC HERO
I'll have great acoustic players from the past featured, and players will have to "fingerpick" to advance. The faster they can pick, the more points they earn. Of course, the guitars will have the Ovation logo. The advanced edition will have the Adamis logo. Even though I'm gonna be a slum dog millionaire, I will still talk to you all. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4817
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | I think I hear someone on the phone to the lawyers now.... :-)
But I'll take one of your first models before they get confiscated! |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I have seen controllers (toy guitars) in the shape and design of PRS, BC Rich, and other guitars...
No Breadwinners yet... But these are smaller companies so nobody seems to be suing them yet.
[Although 'Monster' (cables) has sued Everybody, including Monster energy drink, monster.com, and a rent-a-maid service] |
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March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | Reminds me of when Bill Gates tried to patent the number "0"...you just have to ask yourself, "really...why bother?" |
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February 2009
Posts: 78
Location: Bellingham, WA, USA | I was at a friends birthday party this last Saturday, one of the invited couple brought their daughters with them and noticed my friend has guitar hero for his xbox360. They turn it on and go right to expert and start nailing 50 and 100 note streaks without blinking, I couldn't believe it. They never mentioned a word about playing real guitars, I was going to say something but never got around to it. I'm the kind of person that just cant get into gaming seriously, I mean once you turn the game off all your skill is now worthless |
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Gibson sues Guitar Hero
