Gibson and Viacom settle guitar patent lawsuit
The patent suit filed by the Gibson guitar company against Harmonix, Viacom and EA over the Rock Band guitar has come to an end. Rather than the clear victory Harmonix seemed to expect, the parties have agreed to settle. According to Business Week, Gibson and Viacom asked a federal court to dismiss the case by June 14, stating that they "had reached a full settlement." Finally, we can all rock out without being racked by guilt over using a potentially infringing device.
Gibson originally claimed that the Rock Band guitar violated a 1999 patent for "a system for electronically simulating participation by a user in a pre-recorded musical performance." Gibson lost a similar case against its old Guitar Hero peripheral partner, Activision, in 2009.
[Via Edge]
