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.