Activision is protecting the intellectual property of their $100 million Red Octane acquisition with great fury and righteous fervor befitting a corporation. Activision is suing former Guitar Hero series producer, brand manager, hardware member, Red Octane's PR firm, and, for a second time, peripheral manufacturer The Ant Commandos.

Brendan Sinclair over at Gamespot does a good job laying out the very intricate plot of this future courtroom drama -- although it'll probably all be settled out of court, just like the last round of Activision v. The Ant Commandos. The over-simplified version of it is that some of the major people behind Guitar Hero II left Red Octane and began their own company, teaming up with The Ant Commandos. Of course, this means that these people leave with all the intimate knowledge that made Guitar Hero a success, making Activision's $100 million purchase lose some value. Harmonix was the soul, but Red Octane was the brain of Guitar Hero ... and some major functions of the brain just left for another body. Not just any body either, but the direct competitor.

This situation is almost as strange as Marvel waging superhero wars with Cryptic Studios over City of Heroes and then offering the company the chance to create the Marvel MMO. At the moment, everyone involved in the Activision super-terrific-happy-lawyer-overtime-case is keeping their mouth shut.

The Ant Commandos announced a new 10 fret button, flying V Guitar Hero controller for the PS2 over the weekend. The new axe features five additional buttons at the bottom of the neck for rockin' solos in addition to the normal five fret buttons (maybe the extra buttons are meant to distinguish this bad boy from the official controllers, keeping them out of legal hot water ... hmmm). The wired version costs $50 and a wireless version goes for $60 (same as the official wireless guitars); both will be available for purchase at the company's website November 1st. We're guessing this guy is the only rocker good enough to benefit from the added buttons, though. Orange hammer-ons are scary.

The lawsuits are beginning to fly in the battle between The Ant Commandos (TAC), who design and manufacture gaming peripherals and RedOctane, publisher of Guitar Hero and subsidiary of Activision.

Activision threw out the first volley when they sued TAC for "unfair competition, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices, false advertising, unjust enrichment and more." Now TAC has filed a counter suit claiming that Activision and RedOctane "copied the identifiable trade dress of the [guitar] controller from its developer and part owner of TAC, Topway Electrical Appliance, Co."

The photo you see at top is the "Magical Guitar," which according to TAC was designed in 1999 for Konami's GuitarFreak. TAC claims between 2001 and 2004 that representatives from RedOctane, including the CEO and top sales manager at the time, visited the Topway factory where the "Magical Guitar" was being produced asking questions regarding its design. TAC also claims that between 2002 and 2004, RedOctane "purchased several hundred of the Magical Guitars from Topway prior to producing the [SG] controllers themselves." In 2005 RedOctane produced the Guitar Hero SG controller -- if the picture submitted as evidence in the lawsuit holds up in court, the only obvious identifiable design difference between the SG controller and the "Magical Guitar" is the missing whammy bar. However, TAC and Topway do not have a U.S. patent on the "Magical Guitar" controller.

In addition to the suit, TAC has filed for an injunction asking Activision and RedOctane from infringing on the "trade dress" developed by Topway and separating the Guitar Hero bundle to allow for fair competition. Currently, the SG controller is bundled with Guitar Hero.

RedOctane did not return requests for comment. Full press release after the break.

See also: RedOctane rocks the courthouse

In a spectacular display of canine cannibalism, RedOctane and its new parent company, Activision, last month set their army of attack lawyers on a company called "The Ant Commandos". Much like the RedOctane that existed before the Guitar Hero franchise became mildly popular, the latter company produces unlicensed, musically inclined controllers. These include bongo drums, guitars (wireless versions, natch), dance pads and a weird "Soccer Arena" mat which isn't really musical but will likely tie your legs into a knot just the same.

According to the Gamespot report, RedOctane and Activision feel that TAC's guitar controllers are guilty of "unfair competition, trademark infringement, copyright infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices, false advertising, unjust enrichment and more." One can only assume that the "more" part involves some sort of violence against defenseless puppies. Along with the similar packaging and advertising, even the quality of TAC's product is called into question. The lawyers argue that TAC's claim of 100% compatibility with Guitar Hero is false, as the tilt function necessary to activate Star Power is apparently not very consistent in their line of guitars.

Getting sued for printing a lie is one thing, but to be dragged in front of a judge indirectly because your product might be a bit rubbish? Now that's music to our ears.