Activision has begun protective measures over its Guitar Hero franchise. The company has sued their earlier nemesis, The Ant Commandos, three ex-employees and a PR firm Reverb Communications.
The earlier feud between Activision/RedOctane and The Ant Commandos was over unlicensed third party guitar controllers. Suits and counter suits whisked from side to side, until the companies settled the case outside of court.
The current claims from Activision aim to prevent the three parties from collaborating on a new guitar or drum based game. The claims seem to have merit, since the three ex-employees who worked on Guitar Hero games have formed a new studio, which is affiliated with The Ant Commandos. Furthermore RedOctane´s previous PR representative, Reverb Communications, has also started collaboration with the companies.
Activision has already prevented the companies from distributing a tech-demo with a temporary restraining order the demo features elements from Guitar Hero, and a dance game called StepMania. The ex-employees have also been prohibited of releasing trade secrets, such as music licensing, marketing plans, etc. The Ant Commandos are also not allowed to develop third party peripherals for the Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II, until three months have passed from its release.
The defendants refused to comment on the suit.