Gibson Guitar Inc. is seeking damages from Activision Inc. for alleged infringement stemming from the popular Guitar Hero video game series. Activision, which has racked up about $1 billion on Guitar Hero sales, is petitioning the U.S. District Court for Central California to invalidate Gibson's patent.

Gibson said the games, in which players press buttons on a guitar-shaped controller in time with notes on a TV screen, violates a 1999 patent for technology to simulate a musical performance.

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