Konami Sues Harmonix Over Rhythm Games

Konami has filed suit against Harmonix parent company Viacom over patent violations related to the studio’s rhythm title Rock Band. The company claims that it filed a patent for “musical-rhythm matching game” in the United States around 1999, which predates Harmonix’s 2007 patent filing for a “game controller simulating a musical instrument.”

As per Bloomberg, Konami now seeks cash compensation and a court order to block the sales of Harmonix’s titles so far. Viacom is yet to respond.

Konami was the first to release rhythm games – DrumMania and Guitar Freaks in 1999, with the latter brought to United States a year later. The company hopes to release a Rock Band-esque game called Rock Revolution later this year.