Activision-the muscle behind Guitar Hero and its unadulterated awesomeness-is tangled up in a patent quarrel with Gibson, the provider of many of the game's guitar designs and a good deal of other intellectual property.
After several years of what appeared to be a successful business marriage (Activision puts out a top-selling game in which many controllers resemble Gibsons and the characters on screen can play Gibsons), Gibson claimed a 1999 patent for technology related to "simulating a music performance." In a nutshell, Activision has filed a legal complaint asserting that because Gibson waited so long to act, Gibson had granted an implied license.
Ah, what a treat: it's not that often that one gets to dabble in IP law by way of a video game.
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