Re: patents on Frets on Fire, Pydance, StepMania and such games

"Don Armstrong" <dondebian.org> wrote in
message 
news:20080118134500.GD13670volo.donarmstrong.com...
> On Fri, 18 Jan 2008, John Halton wrote:
>> 1. A game system comprising:
>>
>> an input apparatus which is manipulated by a
player;
>>
>> performance data memory device which stores
performance data
>> stipulating a series of manipulations of said input
apparatus arranged
>> in correspondence with a predetermined musical
piece;
>
> Interesting that they've managed to patent sheet music
stored in a
> computer.

That is not sheet music, but more of a raw storage of notes,
timings, and 
durations (not too unlike a midi file).
Further that is not an independent claim,
the patent *only* protects  a *game system*  that contains
*all* these 
components.

>> manipulation guide device which specifies the
series of manipulations
>> of said input apparatus arranged in correspondence
with said musical
>> piece to the player based on said performance
data;

That does cover any sheet-music or sheetmusic-like interface
that displays 
the notes
stored above.

>> said performance data comprising information which
specifies timings
>> of manipulations relating to at least one timing
manipulation member
>> provided on said input apparatus, and information
which specifies at
>> least one selection manipulation member to be
manipulated in
>> correspondence with the manipulation of said timing
manipulation
>> member from a plurality of selection manipulation
members provided on
>> said input apparatus;

But the key here is that this specifies that the interface
must have two 
different
types of controls. One that must be pressed with the correct
timing (the 
strum bar on a Guitar Hero controler)
as well as selection buttons that need not be pushed with
exact timing, but 
need only be pushed in the right combination when
the timing control is pushed.  Thus this patent very much is
specific to 
Guitar-hero like games, and does not cover generic
"dance"
games, which have only timing buttons, and no selection
buttons.

Futher it is unclear to me that a distributer would be
infringing the 
patentent anyway, as they would be providing
only a portion of the game system claimed, but not the input
device.

(Now if the person was distributing a cd containing
frets-on-fire along with 
a Guitar-hero style controler, that would be covered by this
claim)


> And then continue to even more precisely define digital
sheet music.
>
> Oh well; it's not like patent examiners are actually
capable of
> understanding the patents which they are examining.
>
>
> Don Armstrong
>
> -- 
> A Democracy lead by politicians and political parties,
fails.
>
> http://www.donarmstrong.c
om              http://rzlab.ucr.edu
>
> 



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