MTV Calls Konami's Rock Band Lawsuit "Surprising", "Baseless Litigation"

Last night, word broke that Konami, publisher and developer of trailblazing rhythm games Guitar Freaks and Drummania, was suing Harmonix. The Japanese company claimed that the developer of Rock Band was in violation of three patents held by Konami, seeking damages (read: cash) and demanding that Harmonix and parent company Viacom cease the use of its inventions (read: more cash).

MTV News received a response from an MTV spokesperson on the matter — which, in my mind, was shouted across cubicles — who said the lawsuit was "extremely surprising." The rep further noted that "successful products such as 'Rock Band' can often become targets for baseless litigation." We agree, especially when the entity filing suit is showing up extremely late to the party with its own stillborn excuse for a rock game. At least those poor unfortunate litigation lawyers will finally get a few bucks coming to 'em.

Further details on the suit at MTV News.

'Rock Band' Creators Sued By 'Rock Revolution' Publisher Konami [MTV News]

Konami Suing Harmonix Over Rock Band

Betty, file this under “surprised it took them this long”, could you? Konami’s lawyers in the US have filed a patent lawsuit against Harmonix (and MTV, and VIacom) in the federal court in Tyler, Texas. They allege that Harmonix’s Rock Band violates a pair of patents Konami obtained in 2002 and 2003, which relate to “simulated musical instruments, a music-game system and a musical-rhythm matching game”. For this, Konami seek justice. They also seek cash money. Loads of cash money. As well as an order blocking Harmonix (or Viacom) from using technology that violates Konami’s patents.

Konami Sues Viacom Over `Rock Band' Music Video Game [Bloomberg] [Pic]

Hard Proof That Tecmo Japan Is Lying? (This Seems Like It)

Things are going from bad to worse for Tecmo. First Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki announced he was leaving and suing Tecmo, while a totally separate lawsuit has been filed against Tecmo by Hiroaki Ozawa and co-plaintiff Tatsuki Tsunoda. Ozawa is the Tecmo Labor Union leader and Ninja Gaiden 2 lead engineer, while Tsunoda is the Ninja Gaiden 2 level design lead. Two key Team Ninja members! That alone does not bode well for Tecmo. But, this isn't just a story of two guys trying to get some overtime, but also apparently of deception, falsified statements and a dead, beloved company president. There's concrete evidence in the plaintiff's claims — so concrete that it could very well be the silver bullet for Tecmo's current upper management.

Ozawa and Tsunoda both filed their suit this past Monday. According to the suit, the workers were illegally placed on a "flexible hours" work scheme where overtime was not paid. Because of this dubious employment structure, overtime for the employees exceeded over 100 hours per month in unpaid overtime. Along with the lawsuit, they provided hard evidence to prove that Tecmo's actions were unethical and illegal.

Xbox 360 Doesn't Violate Alcatel Patents

A federal jury has thrown out the third of five lawsuits brought against Microsoft by Alcatel-Lucent SA which alleged that the Xbox 360 violated the company's video coding patent.

The tech company was seeking $419 million in damages and Microsoft was counter-suing for $11.5 million.

Last February, a federal jury ordered that Microsoft pay $1.5 billion in damages to the telcom equipment maker for violating two patents related to digital music, specifically MP3 encoding and decoding via Windows Media Player. That award was later overturned, and Alcatel is expected to appeal later this year.

That finding and the most recent finding are part of a larger suite of suits that also involve speech coding and the video coding used in the Xbox 360.

Microsoft didn't infringe on video patent, jury finds [San Diego Tribune]

WoW Player Still Suing IGE For Gold Farming

"The real significance of this case is, 'What are the rights of the [virtual world] community members when they go online?'"

Guitar Hero Wii Mono Lawsuit Settled

You may remember the class action lawsuit filed against Activision this past November on behalf of owners of the flawed, mono-only version of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The lawsuit, submitted by Samuel Livingston of California, sought "actual damages, individual restitution, equitable relief, civil penalties, costs and expenses of litigation, including attorney's fees, and all further relief available." Well now Activision and Livingston have settled out of court, and Livingston made millions! MILLIONS! Okay, so he didn't get millions. What he, and every other owner of the defective version of the game got, was an extension on the replacement program until August 2008, and a free faceplate - the same faceplate they were already sending out anyway. Oh, and Activision promises not to make the faulty version of the game anymore. Wow. Next time Sam? Just fill out the damn form.

Activision settles mono sound suit [GameSpot]

Blizzard Versus Glider: The Motions

Last year, Blizzard decided to go after Glider (the botting program that lets you skip past the grind and get to the good stuff); Michael Donnelly, the guy behind Glider (who has apparently made nearly $2.8 million off of it) is fighting back, and now both sides have filed motions arguing their case. The summary judgment briefs and analysis have been making the rounds the past week or so: Blizzard claims that Glider infringes on the EULA of WoW by copying portions of code and is pissing of WoW players (as well as gobbling up resources), while Glider is saying that grinding to level 70 is boooooring and they're just helping players get to the fun bits. Both sides are seeking to be declared victorious without having to go through a protracted legal battle. We'll see what happens and who comes out on top.

Terra Nova has mirrors of the summary judgment motions, as well as a quick little wrap-up; Rock, Paper, Shotgun gets to the nitty gritty and also has a poll (question: 'Should Blizzard crush Glider?' options: 'Aye! Bots = cheating,' 'Nay! Grinding = misery,' 'Ayenay! Blizzard should provide a levelling service themselves' - thus far, 'Aye!' is winning), and PlayNoEvil has some analysis up from a security standpoint.

Blizzard v WoW Glider: Interesting, no? [Terra Nova]; Democracy Inaction: Blizzard vs Bots [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]; World of Warcraft Warden vs. Glider - Which is the Lesser Evil? Who owns my computer? {PlayNoEvil]

Harmonix Respond To Sue Happy Gibson

Gibson's first lawsuit against Activision was stupid enough, but subsequent filings against retailers and now Harmonix and MTV show they're clearly suffering from a particularly acute case of STUPID LAWSUIT FEVER. Harmonix are having none of it, and have issued a statement claiming Gibson's suit is "completely without merit".

It is unfortunate that Gibson unfairly desires to share in the tremendous success enjoyed by the developers of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. This lawsuit is completely without merit and we intend to defend it vigorously.

Gibson's patent, filed nearly 10 years ago, required a 3D display, a real musical instrument and a recording of a concert. Rock Band and Guitar Hero are completely different: among other things they are games, require no headset and use a controller only shaped like a real instrument.

Square Enix Cuts Down Sword Pirates

Odds are many of you already own one or more Final Fantasy replica weapons - and that frightens me - but at least they are generally of the more shoddy, unlicensed sword replicas you were likely to find on the cheap via eBay or Bob's Discount Cutlery Emporium. Now Square Enix is taking steps to get those sharp, pointy objects out of the hands of fans, having filed a federal lawsuit in the Central District of California against those whole would infringe upon their intellectual property. At least four manufacturers are named in the suit, which came about after the US Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Patrol seized a crate of counterfeit swords designed in the style of famous Final Fantasy weapons. Square Enix investigated, and while many resellers ceased their rampant reselling, the companies targeted by this lawsuit refused to cooperate, calling down spiky-haired justice upon them.

Real Money Transaction Lawsuit Gets Interesting - Very Interesting

Get Your Hot Coffee Pay Out Now (The Lawyers Already Have)

The recently settled class action lawsuit against Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive has born cash fruit for those who have had their sensibilities offended by the type of salacious content seen above. Now's your chance to cash in, as the attorneys involved already have, reaping a $1 million payment (minus $45,000 in costs) as part of the agreement. Your profit? Up to $35, should you have the receipt in hand, or as little as $5 if your willing to take the time to file. The pay-outs are as follows.

• Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas First Edition Disc - Replacement Disc
• Detailed Store Receipt - Cash payment up to $35.00
• General Credit Card Statement or Check - Cash payment up to $17.50
• Disc/Purchase Details - Cash payment up to $10.00
• No Disc/Purchase Details - Cash payment up to $5.00

Gaming Steve noted that the masses are well aware of the settlement opportunities, now that ads are running in magazines like People. Everyone involved has until May 16 to grab their cash. Good luck!

GTA Class Action Settlement [via Gaming Steve]

Xbox Live Lawsuit Not Just About The Money, Says Lawyer

The lawsuit recently filed against Microsoft for Xbox Live service interruptions isn't about a threesome of Texans "looking to get rich", says the attorney overseeing the class action filing. It's about holding a company responsible to providing a working service that has already been paid for, despite how many Xbox 360s said company moved during the holidays. We're paraphrasing, of course, attorney Jason Gibson who recently spoke with MTV News about the pending litigation.

However, as far as money goes, the suit finally has a price tag. $5 million in damages are alleged, apparently, have been suffered by the millions of Xbox Live subscribers who couldn't access the service over the holiday period. Gibson says that over 50 plaintiffs have joined the suit since its filing.

Xbox Live Gamers Sue Microsoft For Faulty Service, Lawyer Speaks Out: Exclusive [MTV News]

Motion Controller Inventor May Sue Nintendo Over Wii-mote

According to a GoNintendo tipster, former Midway employee Patrick Goschy, seen in the video above, and possibly unnamed parties may file suit against Nintendo for patent violation related to a motion controller he and other Midway Games employees created. Those patents—Motion simulator for a video game and Video game system having a control unit with an accelerometer for controlling a video game—were filed in 1999 with the US Patent & Trademark Office. The demonstration video of Midway's "Velocity Controller" was shot in the summer of 2000, apparently when the heat got to Mr. Goschy, forcing him to break out the short pants.

For the record, we're basing this story on a GoNintendo tip based on a local television broadcast that we've yet to uncover (UPDATE: that local Fox News piece is now online). I implore you to take it as rumor for now, but enjoy yet another potential Nintendo lawsuit from someone looking to get a healthy paycheck from the console manufacturer. Thanks, for the heads up tipsters!

Ex-Midway employee plans to sue Nintendo for Wiimote/Nunchuk idea [GoNintendo]

Microsoft Hit With Class Action Suit Over Xbox Live Outage

A trio of Texan gamers are looking to capitalize on the service disruption that Microsoft has been experiencing with Xbox Live over the past fortnight, writes the Seattle Times. A class action lawsuit has been filed against Microsoft alleging breach of contract over connection issues and server errors many were experiencing when trying to play online. The three plaintiffs claim that MS "failed to exercise reasonable care or competence in communicating information regarding the nature of services offered through Xbox Live" resulting in damages suffered. I'm no lawyer, but I bet there are some Twitter server logs that will argue otherwise!

The complaint, which is available for download via the Seattle Times, doesn't mention what damages are being sought by the group, but does point out expenses associated with Live subscription costs and attorney fees. Your tax dollars at work, ladies and gentlemen!

Xbox Live holiday outages prompts class action lawsuit [Seattle Times]

Shanda Sued, Forced To Pay For 'Stolen' Virtual Items

Band Sue Harmonix, RedOctane Over Guitar Hero Cover

Georgia Man Sues Microsoft Over Xbox Live Charges

According to a report from InformationWeek, Georgia resident Francisco Garcia has filed suit against Microsoft for what he claims was a "fraudulently induced... contractual relationship for Xbox Live services." The problem? Seems that Garcia's underage son used his debit card to sign up for an Xbox Live account. When the yearly auto-rebilling hit, it sent daddy Garcia's account into overdraft, netting him a $35 overdraft penalty. Serious business.

The report doesn't specify how much Garcia is seeking but mentions that Microsoft is attempting to have the case thrown out of court.

Microsoft Hit With Class Action Suit Over Xbox Live Fees [Information Week - thanks, coalhalo!]

MGame to CDC Games: This is All Your Fault!