CASE SETTLED: Activision v. Gibson [P]

Not surprising in view of the court’s claim construction that heavily favored Activision, it appears that Gibson and Activision have settled this case. Judge Pfaelzer of the District Court for the Central District of California, on April 17, 2009, entered an ORDER RE DISMISSAL. Activision and Gibson filed a Notice of Settlement and Stipulation of Dismissal With Prejudice, in response to which the court dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning that is cannot be refiled, and the case is CLOSED. While details of the settlement are unknown, I’m willing to bet heavily that the settlement favors Activision. Gibson would have had a herculean task in trying to convince the judge or an appellate court to overturn the Markman order construing the claims with respect to musical instruments. If I find out details of the settlement, I will update this post. We’re otherwise removing this one from the tracker list, and we’re done.