- The Ant Commandos
Infobox Company
company_name = The Ant Commandos
company_type =Inc
company_
foundation =2005
location_city =Ontario, California
location_country =USA
industry = Interactive entertainment
products = "Rockband" and "Guitar Hero" guitars
homepage = [http://www.theantcommandos.com/ theantcommandos.com]The Ant Commandos, Inc. (TAC) is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of peripherals and accessories for
video game console s based out ofChino, California . Their flagship products are a line of corded and wirelessguitar controllers for thePlayStation 2 music video game, Guitar Hero.In 2006,
RedOctane announced a lawsuit against The Ant Commandos alleging unfair competition, trademark infringement, and copyright infringement [Sinclair, Brendan. [http://www.gamespot.com/news/6157917.html "RedOctane sues guitar manufacturer"] ,GameSpot . September 20, 2006.] regarding their production of the guitar controllers. The Ant Commandos announced a counter claim on September 21, 2006, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Activision Publishing, Inc. and RedOctane, Inc. [IGN Staff. [http://games.ign.com/articles/734/734075p1.html "The Ant Commandos (TAC) Files Counter Claim Against RedOctane and Activision"] ,IGN . September 21, 2006.] alleging that Activision and RedOctane copied the trade dress and design of their controller. Both suits were settled in December of 2006, in an agreement which allowed TAC to continue selling Guitar Hero peripherals. [Brendan Sinclair. [http://au.gamespot.com/news/6163578.html "Guitar Hero suit settled"] ,GameSpot ] In 2007, Activision, parent company of RedOctane, again filed suit against TAC, as well as against several former employees and clients of RedOctane, now working for TAC, alleging copyright infringement and misappropriating trade secrets, among other charges. [Brendan Sinclair. [http://au.gamespot.com/news/6165640.html "Activision sues Guitar Hero developers"] ,Gamespot ] The guitar controllers that are sold are the Freedom Vs, the Rocking Vs, The Shredder, and Basses of all kinds. The also sell the Tac Thunderbox 28r Amplifier that can be used to play a real electric guitar, a real microphone, and has audio inputs for any game console. It can be found online only for as little as $19.99 to $59.99.References
* Kuchera, Ben. [http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/9/20/5354 "Red Octane sues makers of third-party guitar controllers"] ,
Ars Technica . September 20, 2006.
* Kuchera, Ben. [http://arstechnica.com/journals/thumbs.ars/2006/8/25/5111 "Freedom V Wireless Guitar Controller for Guitar Hero"] ,Ars Technica . August 25, 2006.External links
* [http://theantcommandos.com The Ant Commandos official website]
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