Companies Settle Guitar Hero Peripheral Dispute

Peripheral maker The Ant Commandos (TAC) has reached an out of court settlement with publisher RedOctane, and new parent company Activision, over the production of guitar controllers for the Guitar Hero games on PlayStation 2. RedOctane had initially sued TAC over the controller packagings, alleging offenses including unfair competition, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices, false advertising and unjust enrichment. RedOctane also alleged that despite advertising for the products, they were not fully compatible with the popular PlayStation 2 rhythm game. RedOctane then found themselves being counter-sued, as TAC claimed that RedOctane and parent Activision had "copied the identifiable trade dress of the controller" based on its products originally created for Konami’s Guitar Freaks series. According to a statement made to Gamasutra by a representative of The Ant Commandos, there has been a settlement in the case, but the company is not specifying exactly what the settlement entails. [UPDATE - 1.02pm PST: A representative for The Ant Commandos contacted Gamasutra to give a statement directly.]