The US District Court of Central California has thrown out Gibson's claims that Activision's Guitar Hero peripherals infringe on a patent it filed in 1999.

Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer concluded, as SPOnG suggested when Activision first filed its complaint against Gibson over the claims, that Gibson's complaint was a bit far-fetched. "No reasonable person of ordinary skill in the relevant arts would interpret the '405 Patent as covering interactive video games", wrote the Judge in her ruling. "Gibson would have this Court determine that any device that controls something that produces musical sounds is covered by the '405 Patent."

The patent relates to a "simulated musical concert experience."

It would seem that lawsuits filed by Gibson against Rock Band makers Electronic Arts and MTV Games as well as several retailers relating to the same patent are similarly doomed. Apparently those decisions have been stayed pending Judge Pfaelzer's decision, making it likely that those cases will also be thrown out.

Prior to Gibson's claims, Guitar Hero peripherals carried the guitar maker's branding. It has been stated by Activision that Gibson's complaint was raised because Activision opted not to renew that marketing arrangement with Gibson.

^{Source: GameSpot}