From
Kotaku.
Rock Band developer Harmonix is turning the legal tables on Konami, slapping the publisher-developer with a lawsuit of its own. No, not for pain and suffering caused by Rock Revolution, but for patent infringement.
Why does this sound eerily familiar? You may recall that Konami, who also developed the rhythm game Guitar Freaks for Japan, hit Harmonix with a suit last summer. That suit claimed that 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."
Now it's Harmonix's turn to sue.
The Boston based developer, which is owned by MTV Games, claims Konami is violating its own patent for game controllers that simulate musical instruments, one that Harmonix claims is an improvement of earlier video game controllers that simulate musical instruments. The Harmonix patent actually cites Konami's other rhythm game Beatmania as an example of a control system that has been improved upon.
Harmonix's suit, much like Konami's, is seeking cash and a motion to stop the Rock Revolution publisher from selling its plastic instruments. We'd think the game buying public has done a pretty respectable job of doing the latter due to lack of interest.
Harmonix Sues Konami 
