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Gibson Can't Resist, Sues Another Video Game For Infringement, Despite Being Smacked Down By Court Last Time
from the remember-last-time dept
You may remember a few years back when Gibson Guitars sued a ton of companies -- video game makers, retailers and more -- for supposedly violating patent 5,990,405 on creating a simulated musical concert. In the lawsuit, Gibson suggested that "the '405 Patent covers any system where a user controls something 'musical' with any device." Yeah. Well, last time around, the court did not look too kindly on these claims, and told Gibson that suing over this patent "bordered on frivolous" and noted that "no reasonable person of ordinary skill in the relevant arts would interpret the '405 Patent as covering interactive video games."
Following that ruling, Gibson quickly "settled" the lawsuit. But, apparently it was just itching to try again. Via Mike Wokasch, we learn that Gibson has sued again, over the same patent, this time targeting 745 LLC, the makers of the game "PowerGig: Rise of the SixString." Now, at least this game is a little bit closer to what Gibson had claimed in the patent. PowerGig is basically a really weak Guitar Hero clone, with the big difference being that the device is actually a real guitar. Still, it seems like a huge stretch to claim that then makes the patent apply. The judge was pretty clear last time that no reasonable person would interpret the patent to cover interactive video games, but apparently Gibson is hoping whoever hears the case this time is not, in fact, a reasonable person.
Following that ruling, Gibson quickly "settled" the lawsuit. But, apparently it was just itching to try again. Via Mike Wokasch, we learn that Gibson has sued again, over the same patent, this time targeting 745 LLC, the makers of the game "PowerGig: Rise of the SixString." Now, at least this game is a little bit closer to what Gibson had claimed in the patent. PowerGig is basically a really weak Guitar Hero clone, with the big difference being that the device is actually a real guitar. Still, it seems like a huge stretch to claim that then makes the patent apply. The judge was pretty clear last time that no reasonable person would interpret the patent to cover interactive video games, but apparently Gibson is hoping whoever hears the case this time is not, in fact, a reasonable person.
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Oh Gibson
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Gibson is hoping whoever hears the case this time is not, in fact, a reasonable person.
"the '405 Patent covers any system where a user controls something 'musical' with any device."
Really? A swift kick in the groin to the examiner that approved that.
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Re: Gibson is hoping whoever hears the case this time is not, in fact, a reasonable person.
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Re: Gibson is hoping whoever hears the case this time is not, in fact, a reasonable person.
If I read this correctly, every musician in the world does what this patent describes (on a daily basis!): record instrument tracks separately as they add them together to mix the final song.
I can't possibly fathom what the "expert" in question was thinking when this patent was approved. In my opinion, both the examiner and Gibson deserve a kick in the groin.
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Well
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Quite, they're banking that the case will be heard by a member of the judiciary ...
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Re:
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Down with Gibson
I'm a guitarist. I've really enjoyed playing Gibson guitars in the past. But the leaders are idiots, as proven by this suit. It goes right to the top. Their CEO Henry Juszkiewicz is known to be one of the biggest a-holes to work for.
Enjoy some Gibson rotten workplace highlights!
I just saw an official Gibson forum post where someone asked about this. Henry's reply was pretty funny, like a non-denial denial. "I can't address anonymous postings, they don't know me..." and so on. As if anyone would ever be frank about the boss to their face. :) And he's acting like the people never worked there.
It's a moot point for me. Their guitars are totally unaffordable. And many are good, but they're still way over-priced. So I guess they think they should punch up sales by making money the old-fashioned way, suing people.
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WTF?!
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Gibson
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