M·CAM, Inc. releases Patently Obvious™ report on of Gibson Guitar Company’s U.S. Patent No. 5,990,405 referenced in Gibson Guitar Company v. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., MTV Networks, and Electronic Arts, Inc. lawsuit

Date:  Fri, 2010-06-25

M·CAM, Inc. releases Patently Obvious™ report on of Gibson Guitar Company’s U.S. Patent No. 5,990,405 referenced in Gibson Guitar Company v. Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., MTV Networks, and Electronic Arts, Inc. lawsuit

Charlottesville, VA – June 25, 2010 –&38211; M·CAM, Inc. released its Patently Obvious™ report today on U.S. Patent No. 5,990,405 which Gibson Guitar Company claimed in a March 20, 2008 lawsuit that Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., MTV Networks, and Electronic Arts, Inc. infringed upon. On June 8, 2010, Gibson settled its patent infringement claims against Harmonix, Viacom, Electronic Arts, and other retailers. The terms of this settlement were undisclosed, but it can be presumed that each of the defendants paid a licensing fee in the process. This report focuses on patents of interest which predate and are concurrent to the Gibson Guitar Company patent, including public–domain alternatives.

The patent named in the lawsuit describes a system and method for generating and controlling a simulated musical concert experience such as a video game.

M·CAM’s Patently Obvious™ is a weekly report providing visibility into potentially unconsidered alternatives, including art in the public domain, to patent holdings across a variety of technology areas.

M·CAM, Inc. is a global, full–service intellectual property and rights (IP&R) and intangible asset financial services firm. We provide the technical and financial systems that allow public and private markets to use IP&R and IA for regulated transactions in banking, securities, insurance, and public innovation investment and technology procurement. From our pioneering work in creating the world’s first standards–based innovation collateralization financial products for banking and securities to our work in grassroots innovator enablement and patent quality assurance programs, M·CAM provides the mechanism to balance the interests of public and commercial sectors to support and build thriving economies.

The M·CAM Patently Obvious™ report on the Gibson Guitar Company patent can be found HERE