Gibson Guitar Hero suit thrown out

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Mar 2, 2009 5:25 pm PT

Federal judge denies claim by Guitar maker alleging that instruments for Activision's rhythm franchise violated 1999 patent.

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.

104 Comments

  • mesc420

    Posted Apr 1, 2009 3:28 pm PT

    LOL @ Gibson, what a bunch of A-holes! That lawsuit was kinda like letting someone borrow your car,then as soon as they drive off you call the cops and report your car stolen...

  • Spider-Jim

    Posted Mar 8, 2009 4:18 pm PT

    I don't get it , they gave them a license to do so and then sued them?

  • KAISERKONG

    Posted Mar 6, 2009 1:40 pm PT

    After hearing this three years ago, I swore I would never buy a Gibson guitar...and today I own a Fender bass, Fender Squire Strat and a Washburn bass when I could have easily settled for an overpriced Les Paul and been done with buying guitars for a while. Thank you Gibson for showing your true colors!

  • Taffelost

    Posted Mar 6, 2009 12:47 pm PT

    Can you say stupid? Gibson's got the best free commercial in the history of mankind because of GH, and they're taking those responsible to court. WOW. I'm awestruck by how many corporate idiots there's in mangement around the world.

    Guitar retailers around the world are all saying Guitar Hero has made them sell more guitars. Think about all those little freaks that's already established a relationship with their plastic Gibsons because of GH. Goodwill that will follow them for the rest of their guitar playing lives. Gibson needs to find themselves some new PR-advisors.

  • Kakua_Omari

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 5:26 pm PT

    Ha!

  • Delta_Ops

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 4:48 pm PT

    I Like Gibson Guitars, But Like Many People Can't Afford Them So I Settled And Bought An Epiphone SG to Add To My Collection. Plus I Think The Lawsuit Was Stupid You Allow Them To Use Your Name And Products In Game But Suit Them Because You Think Their Controller Is To Similar To Your Patent.

  • DerekLee688

    Posted Mar 5, 2009 11:33 am PT

    Cool people don't run multi million dollar companies. Money is money, and if you're not trying stunts like this then your not "in the game". I also think it's a stupid lawsuit, but then again I'm not a C.E.O.

  • gmagnus

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 2:02 pm PT

    JUSTIIIIIIIICE!

  • CreatureRising

    Posted Mar 4, 2009 1:52 pm PT

    Makes me sad i just got a Les Paul. I have always admired Gibson cause i loved there guitars more then anything but i didnt have the money so i was stuck with my Stratocaster. Well they lost some of my respect going after such a Silly Law Suit.

  • Jettero-Heller

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 10:02 pm PT

    @ Judge Judy: "Sorry I didn't mean to sound like an ass"

    I know. I'm afraid I did however, come across as an ass. I really should have mentioned that I am a huge Ibanez fan especially their mid & late 70s original offerings. Widely considered by many (myself included) to be the WORSTperiod for Gibson EVER. Modern Ibanez axes are very nice as well. I read a Guitar1 review of the prestige a while back and they loved it and I believe them. Back to the 70s-80s which is where Gibson earned that reputation. They were owned by a European company called Norlin and it's just stuck with them since. That being said, I was a youngster during those days and spent every Thursday & Friday after school & all day Saturday hanging out & eventually working at my Buddies family music store from about 78 to 82. In that time I probably handled & played several hundred Pauls, SGs, 335s, & of course my prized 1980 EXP2 which I have to get refretted BTW. Out of that 4 year period I can honestly remember a pair of LP standards 3 LP Customs a few Deluxes (my personal fav. Paul) & a handfull of other examples which were absolute toneless, unplayable EXPENSIVE junk. Their QA has improved greatly since then and I have no problem with the brand at all. But even then they were still putting out awesome instruments just like today where the occasional junker seems to get past QA. I'm sorry I sounded like a condescending jerk but like I said I old & cranky. I was defending the Gibson products and not their rabid litigation practices. Sorry for the novel.

  • tawagivercetti

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 7:52 pm PT

    Gibson is senile

  • arod1122

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 7:06 pm PT

    Ugh more patent infringement crap. This is like Nintendo's many patent law battles all over again...

  • judge__judy

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 7:06 pm PT

    Sorry I didn't mean to sound like an ass, everyone does have their own opinions on guitars. My point was that gibsons are far overpriced and that the company is very greedy and not very good to their customers. I also think saying that gibsons are the best guitars in the world is actually the beginner thing to do as they definitely aren't. I'm obviously not saying ibanez are better I'm saying they are good value and have very good quality control. And yes I owned a high end japanese burny les paul custom(pre law-suit guitar) which was a very close copy of a gibson les paul custom. I would easily rate it on par with gibsons and even higher then most of their standards. It had VH-1 pickups and a good clean and slightly overdriven tone, but had a 50's style neck and single cut-away which doesn't suit me. I sold it though to buy a laney vc-30 amp and digitech bad monkey

  • modem22

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 6:45 pm PT

    Wow there are actually couple of smart judges out there; but a lot of stupid companies like Gibson who knows that their market is dead right now.

  • okassar

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 6:07 pm PT

    W00t,even though I own Rock Band lol,I hate it when companies make stupid claims like that.

  • chibi-acer

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 3:47 pm PT

    Thank you for smart judges.

    Sadly, summary dismissal of such cases is a huge factor in determining the outcome. A lot of juries seem to find in the case of the plaintiff for patent cases, usually because there's such a huge gap in clear patent laws.

  • Mystoksor

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 3:30 pm PT

    It's ridiculous the stupid things you can patent in the US. Can you believe that amazon actually has a patent for being able to make an online order without filling out billing information -_-

  • JGoWild

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 2:26 pm PT

    @enix165, "So...Gibson let GH make their guitars into controllers, now they're suing them?! That's stupid...XD". nah man, it aint just stupid. Its the American way.

  • Jason_Morris

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 1:17 pm PT

    As a guitarist, I'm glad to be a Fender man (and Ibanez, too). Anyone who can remember the dire guitars Gibson made during the early 80s will know how wrong they can get things!

  • RE-fanatic

    Posted Mar 3, 2009 1:08 pm PT

    It's a way for them to get more money, since GH is a very popular series

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