You’ve probably heard of Guitar Hero, the best selling game from Activision that puts a guitar-shaped peripheral in gamers’ hands and lets them play along to well known rock songs.
Guitar Hero has surpassed $1bn in retail sales in North America, sold 16m units worldwide, enlivened countless parties and prompted Guitar Hero nights comparable to karaoke ones in clubs and bars across America.
However, you’ve probably never heard of Patent Number 5,990,405 filed by the Gibson Guitar Corporation in 1999 for a “system and method for generating and controlling a simulated musical concert experience.”
The patent document describes it as a virtual-reality device where a guitar player could wear a head-mounted 3D display equipped with speakers and be given the simulated experience of playing a real concert with other musicians. It envisages the invention as a source of entertainment for professional and amateur musicians or as an aid for guitar makers in selling their products by allowing prospective buyers to recreate a concert atmosphere.
The system does not seem to have made much progress. I could find no mention of it among the current product listings on Gibson’s website and the company’s spokeswoman was travelling and unavailable for comment today.
But Gibson wrote to Activision in January alleging that Guitar Hero simulates a musical concert experience in a similar way to the device in the patent. It said it should obtain a licence for the patent or stop selling all versions of Guitar Hero and its peripherals.
In response, Activision filed a complaint in a Los Angeles court this week seeking a judgement that it has not infringed the patent.
The background is that Activision’s RedOctane subsidiary, publisher of Guitar Hero, signed an agreement with Gibson in 2005 to feature several of its famous models, such as its SG and Les Paul guitars, in the game and as peripherals.
They have featured in Guitar Hero I, II and III, but no agreement has been reached for any further titles.
Activision’s senior litigation counsel, Mary Tuck, wrote to Gibson this week saying it “knew about the Guitar Hero games for nearly three years, but did not raise its patent until it became clear that Activision was not interesting [sic] in renewing the License and Marketing Support Agreement.”
She said this suggested Gibson was not acting in good faith.
Gibson has yet to respond but, with millions in future licence fees at stake, a heavy legal riff of its own seems likely.
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