Gibson Sues Over Guitar Hero

Gibson Guitar has sued Guitar Hero retailers, saying the Activision video games infringe on a patent it holds for a virtual-reality concert. The federal suit seeks to stop Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Amazon, GameStop, and Toys "R" Us from selling the games, reports AP. But Activision is fighting back—earlier this month it sued to have Guitar Hero declared free of patent violation.

Gibson wants Activision to get a license under its 1999 patent, but the game maker isn’t interested. "We will confront this and any other efforts by Gibson to wrongfully interfere with Activision's relationship with its consumers," said a company rep. Guitar Hero has helped Activision’s sales soar, contributing to a 90% profit increase in the company's most recent quarter. (More video games stories.)