Gibson v. Activision: Round 1. Fight! (Updated with Activision's Reponse)
Guitar Hero really is affecting lives.
Published: March 20, 2008
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Or that's what Gibson would have you believe.
You might remember that back on March 17th, Gibson filed a lawsuit against all sorts of retailers because they claimed that the Guitar Hero products were infringing on a patent they held. Of course, people will confuse Guitar Hero guitars with real Gibson guitars, so Gibson thought it prudent to sue as many folks as they could, to protect the innocent.
In the interest of fairness, Gibson tried to settle with Activision. Let's face it, people are buying Guitar Hero enmasse. I don't think the same can be said with Gibson guitars. Acitvision, however, has decided to go to the courts and now Gibson is forced to pursue enforcement of their patent.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a little bit silly? Music industry, I'm sorry to tell you but no one is going to confuse the two guitars, regardless of how they look. A real guitar is not only bigger, it's also heavier, has six strings (or more if you're into that kind of thing), and requires an amplifier if you want to hear anything. You aren't losing sales because Activision isn't selling Guitar Hero to people who would buy your products anyway.
This just goes to show you that everyone chases the almighty dollar. Common sense has flown out the window.
UPDATE
Activision has released a statement about the whole thing and it's a doozy:
"Gibson's lawsuit is a transparent end run around an impartial court that Activision asked on March 11 to rule on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit. Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong. We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers.
As Activision noted in its filing, Gibson waited three years to make its patent allegations, and only did so after it became clear that Activision was not interested in renewing its marketing and support agreement with Gibson. Activision continues to believe that Gibson's claims are disingenuous and lack any justification."
The love affair is over and the boxing gloves are out.
You might remember that back on March 17th, Gibson filed a lawsuit against all sorts of retailers because they claimed that the Guitar Hero products were infringing on a patent they held. Of course, people will confuse Guitar Hero guitars with real Gibson guitars, so Gibson thought it prudent to sue as many folks as they could, to protect the innocent.
In the interest of fairness, Gibson tried to settle with Activision. Let's face it, people are buying Guitar Hero enmasse. I don't think the same can be said with Gibson guitars. Acitvision, however, has decided to go to the courts and now Gibson is forced to pursue enforcement of their patent.
Am I the only one who thinks this is a little bit silly? Music industry, I'm sorry to tell you but no one is going to confuse the two guitars, regardless of how they look. A real guitar is not only bigger, it's also heavier, has six strings (or more if you're into that kind of thing), and requires an amplifier if you want to hear anything. You aren't losing sales because Activision isn't selling Guitar Hero to people who would buy your products anyway.
This just goes to show you that everyone chases the almighty dollar. Common sense has flown out the window.
UPDATE
Activision has released a statement about the whole thing and it's a doozy:
"Gibson's lawsuit is a transparent end run around an impartial court that Activision asked on March 11 to rule on patent assertions that Gibson knows have no merit. Our Guitar Hero retailing partners have done nothing wrong. We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its customers and its consumers.
As Activision noted in its filing, Gibson waited three years to make its patent allegations, and only did so after it became clear that Activision was not interested in renewing its marketing and support agreement with Gibson. Activision continues to believe that Gibson's claims are disingenuous and lack any justification."
The love affair is over and the boxing gloves are out.
