Harmonix sues Konami over instrument controllers

[DarkwingChuck]

Not to be confused with when Konami sued Harmonix over instrument controllers.

Viacom Inc. and its Harmonix studio sued Konami Corp., claiming the Japanese company’s “Rock Revolution” game violates a patent for game controllers that simulate musical instruments.

The complaint, filed yesterday in federal court in Boston, seeks to block sales of the video game by Tokyo-based Konami, plus cash compensation.

Konami sued Harmonix and New York-based Viacom in July, claiming “Rock Band” infringes two of its patents for simulating musical instruments. Viacom is seeking to have that case transferred from a federal court in Marshall, Texas, to the one in Boston since Harmonix is based in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The Viacom patent, issued Dec. 2, claims it is an improvement of earlier video-game controllers that emulate musical instruments, and cites the Beatmania series of games by Konami as an example of the older inventions.

This confuses me muchly.

[Kefka Jr.]

Re: Harmonix sues Konami over instrument controllers

Sometimes I kind of imagine lawsuits like a game of Egyptian Ratscrew, where the opposing parties just slap each other's hands out of the way in an attempt to out-sue the other.

[Goufunaki]

Re: Harmonix sues Konami over instrument controllers

Too much fuss over instrument controllers. @_@

[Karr Lord of Chaos]

Re: Harmonix sues Konami over instrument controllers

i dont see how you can patent an idea. rockband took an idea and improved upon it, customized it for their game and it became popular. oh sorry i you cant tape a market because we taped it first.

its all just a pile of crap to get money.

[Sivart the Sloth Trencher]

Re: Harmonix sues Konami over instrument controllers

Oh the irony.

[marcus]

Re: Harmonix sues Konami over instrument controllers

patents are a thorn in the side in regards to electronics. it protects the right for a man to invent a product but game consoles are too close to each other in terms of user input that you can step on anyone's toes inadvertently.