One thing you should all realize is that, depending on their agenda, Konami doesn't even have to "win." A large corporation such as Konami could basically litigate a smaller company such as Roxor into submission or into oblivion.
Roxor likely doesn't have anywhere near the resources that Konami does. If they chose to (I'm not saying they have or would--only if), they could just tie Roxor up in court until they either gave up and settled or exhausted all of their resources and simply went out of business. This is regardless of any merits Konami may or may not have to their arguments.
Again, I'm not saying that they have or will do such a thing...just that it's a possibility.
Personally, my opinion is that the announcement of a home version of ITG is what prompted this action. Konami isn't gaining or losing anything from having ITG in arcades. They technically do not have a competing product in this market since there hasn't been a US version of DDR since 2000's DDR USA. However, if Roxor enters the console market they'll be head-to-head against a number of current Konami offerings. Konami has shown no signs of stopping production of console DDR in the US anytime soon.
Konami files for Injunction against Roxor.
Moderator: Moderators
I agree with Brian.
Even though no where in the lawsuit does it mention the home version, I believe Konami believes it can take out ITG by hitting it on it's patent infringement as far as the arcade goes. After reading the entire official complaint it's quite amazing to see what kind of control Konami still has in regards to the DDR Arcade machines that exsist in the US. I for one personally had believed that Konami gave up it's rights when KOA disbanded but after reading all of the patents and rights they still currently maintain I was horribly mistaken.
Anyway, they obviously care about the home release. That's why they put out the lawsuit the day before the PS2 release was supposed to take place. If you read at the end of their official complaint you can see that they want nothing short of the complete destruction of Roxor and all ITG products.
If Konami doesn't win this round, it will be a sure bet that we will see a similar lawsuit over the console release.
Even though no where in the lawsuit does it mention the home version, I believe Konami believes it can take out ITG by hitting it on it's patent infringement as far as the arcade goes. After reading the entire official complaint it's quite amazing to see what kind of control Konami still has in regards to the DDR Arcade machines that exsist in the US. I for one personally had believed that Konami gave up it's rights when KOA disbanded but after reading all of the patents and rights they still currently maintain I was horribly mistaken.
Anyway, they obviously care about the home release. That's why they put out the lawsuit the day before the PS2 release was supposed to take place. If you read at the end of their official complaint you can see that they want nothing short of the complete destruction of Roxor and all ITG products.
If Konami doesn't win this round, it will be a sure bet that we will see a similar lawsuit over the console release.
Here is a transcript of an AIM conversation I had with Cutriss from DDR Freak with regard to the Konami v. Roxor lawsuit. I'm posting it (with his permission) for the entertainment value of a "conspiracy theory" I created during the course of the conversation:
[15:49] Ho: Has the Konami v. Roxor suit increased traffic to DDR Freak?
[15:54] Cutriss: Probably. They're not really talking about it nearly as much at the other websites.
[15:54] Cutriss: And luckily, this is something that people can scream about regardless of their opinions of DDR Freak, so they bitch here because it's convenient.
[15:56] Ho: I'm wading through the text of the complaint.
[15:56] Ho: The legalese is entertaining at least.
[15:56] Cutriss: Yeah, and we even get props in it. XD
[15:57] Ho: I saw that.
[15:57] Ho: I forget...what was the result of Konami's action against Andamiro?
[15:57] Cutriss: I'm glad I had the idea to go retrieve those.
[15:57] Ho: Didn't they settle out of court?
[15:57] Cutriss: Nobody really knows, other than the fact that the suit was settled in Konami's favor. The terms were not disclosed.
[15:57] Ho: So there was no legal ruling...just a private settlement?
[15:58] Cutriss: Right.
[15:58] Ho: I made a comment in a discussion on IndyDDR about the current suit.
[15:58] Ho: Konami really doesn't have to win this battle. They have the resources to litigate Roxor either into submission or into oblivion.
[15:59] Cutriss: Indeed.
[15:59] Ho: ...regardless of the merits of their claim (which personally I believe they have merit).
[15:59] Cutriss: I really would rather they compete in the marketplace and not the courts. But it is their IP that Roxor is making money off of.
[15:59] Ho: My guess is that it's the announcement of the home version of ITG that prompted this action.
[16:00] Ho: Arcade ITG doesn't really directly compete with Konami in the US the way that a CS version definitely does.
[16:06] Ho: I mean...if people confuse ITG for DDR and it leads them to purchase a console version of DDR, Konami probably doesn't care.
[16:07] Ho: The average person isn't going to purchase arcade hardware and they don't have a competing product in this market that operators would otherwise buy.
[16:07] Ho: And they've obviously turned a blind eye to the rampant importing and bootlegging.
[16:08] Cutriss: Yeah...but at the same time, they don't want their options limited with regards to competitors. As for the bootlegging, I guess they're having a hard time with it because of the fact that they're being done overseas.
[16:08] Ho: But if Roxor releases a home version as an alternative to compete for consumers' dollars...well, I would say that Konami would take notice and take action.
[16:09] Ho: I'm not sure what options you're saying would be limited.
[16:09] Cutriss: If they were to decide to get back into the market, then ITG's competition would be an inhibition.
[16:09] Ho: Ah, ok.
[16:09] Cutriss: Which is a big "duh" to everyone, I'm sure.
[16:10] Cutriss: Yeehaw McKickass seems to be under the impression that E3 might see an arcade announcement.
[16:10] Cutriss: Which would be a better reason for the announcement of this suit.
[16:10] Ho: One could postulate that Roxor's sole purpose was to "trick" Konami into releasing a new arcade version of DDR.
[16:11] Cutriss: Heh. That'd be beautiful.
[16:11] Ho: Roxor has to have seen this coming.
[16:11] Cutriss: Yeah, they knew it would happen.
[16:11] Cutriss: Which makes earlier comments about the "legal issues being squared away" rather ironic.
[16:11] Ho: Perhaps they protected themselves as individuals and are willing to sacrifice the corporation for the purpose of inciting Konami into action.
[16:12] Ho: Talk about a conspiracy theory!
[16:12] Ho: (I'm just making this shit up as I go along, BTW.)
[16:12] Cutriss: Heh. XD
[16:12] Cutriss: Well, it would explain why Roxor's only other product isn't exactly a blockbuster. XD
[15:49] Ho: Has the Konami v. Roxor suit increased traffic to DDR Freak?
[15:54] Cutriss: Probably. They're not really talking about it nearly as much at the other websites.
[15:54] Cutriss: And luckily, this is something that people can scream about regardless of their opinions of DDR Freak, so they bitch here because it's convenient.
[15:56] Ho: I'm wading through the text of the complaint.
[15:56] Ho: The legalese is entertaining at least.
[15:56] Cutriss: Yeah, and we even get props in it. XD
[15:57] Ho: I saw that.
[15:57] Ho: I forget...what was the result of Konami's action against Andamiro?
[15:57] Cutriss: I'm glad I had the idea to go retrieve those.
[15:57] Ho: Didn't they settle out of court?
[15:57] Cutriss: Nobody really knows, other than the fact that the suit was settled in Konami's favor. The terms were not disclosed.
[15:57] Ho: So there was no legal ruling...just a private settlement?
[15:58] Cutriss: Right.
[15:58] Ho: I made a comment in a discussion on IndyDDR about the current suit.
[15:58] Ho: Konami really doesn't have to win this battle. They have the resources to litigate Roxor either into submission or into oblivion.
[15:59] Cutriss: Indeed.
[15:59] Ho: ...regardless of the merits of their claim (which personally I believe they have merit).
[15:59] Cutriss: I really would rather they compete in the marketplace and not the courts. But it is their IP that Roxor is making money off of.
[15:59] Ho: My guess is that it's the announcement of the home version of ITG that prompted this action.
[16:00] Ho: Arcade ITG doesn't really directly compete with Konami in the US the way that a CS version definitely does.
[16:06] Ho: I mean...if people confuse ITG for DDR and it leads them to purchase a console version of DDR, Konami probably doesn't care.
[16:07] Ho: The average person isn't going to purchase arcade hardware and they don't have a competing product in this market that operators would otherwise buy.
[16:07] Ho: And they've obviously turned a blind eye to the rampant importing and bootlegging.
[16:08] Cutriss: Yeah...but at the same time, they don't want their options limited with regards to competitors. As for the bootlegging, I guess they're having a hard time with it because of the fact that they're being done overseas.
[16:08] Ho: But if Roxor releases a home version as an alternative to compete for consumers' dollars...well, I would say that Konami would take notice and take action.
[16:09] Ho: I'm not sure what options you're saying would be limited.
[16:09] Cutriss: If they were to decide to get back into the market, then ITG's competition would be an inhibition.
[16:09] Ho: Ah, ok.
[16:09] Cutriss: Which is a big "duh" to everyone, I'm sure.
[16:10] Cutriss: Yeehaw McKickass seems to be under the impression that E3 might see an arcade announcement.
[16:10] Cutriss: Which would be a better reason for the announcement of this suit.
[16:10] Ho: One could postulate that Roxor's sole purpose was to "trick" Konami into releasing a new arcade version of DDR.
[16:11] Cutriss: Heh. That'd be beautiful.
[16:11] Ho: Roxor has to have seen this coming.
[16:11] Cutriss: Yeah, they knew it would happen.
[16:11] Cutriss: Which makes earlier comments about the "legal issues being squared away" rather ironic.
[16:11] Ho: Perhaps they protected themselves as individuals and are willing to sacrifice the corporation for the purpose of inciting Konami into action.
[16:12] Ho: Talk about a conspiracy theory!
[16:12] Ho: (I'm just making this shit up as I go along, BTW.)
[16:12] Cutriss: Heh. XD
[16:12] Cutriss: Well, it would explain why Roxor's only other product isn't exactly a blockbuster. XD
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LikeableRodent
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Anonymous wrote:For those who didn't know, with the inclusion of Andamiro backing Roxor with a public partnership the Konami lawsuit has been dropped.
Huh what? Are you anonymous just to spread misinformation?
Konami has recently expanded the lawsuite, not dropped. The lawsuit now includes the home version of ITG and, hold back the laughter here, Mad Catz's MC GROOVZ danceCRAZE.
Green Tea: Ho might have forgot to turn guest posting off on the new boards.