Filed November 5 in Los Angeles, the lawsuit accuses Activision of fraudulant inducement and breach of contract among other offenses.
According to
RollingStone.com, the pop-rock band No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision for what they claim is "a virtual karaoke circus act."
No Doubt claims that when they were originally approached by Activision to contribute to the
Band Hero video game, they were happy to participate. They submitted three songs from their catalogue and their images in avatar form to play those three songs within the video game. According to the band, Activision progressed through the previously agreed upon contract obligations. Activision enabled the No Doubt avatars to play every song within the
Band Hero catalogue. As a result, users are able to manipulate the members of No Doubt to play songs inappropriate for his/her gender.
Statement from No Doubt:
Musical artists No Doubt announced that they have filed a lawsuit against Activision Publishing today, Wednesday, November 4, 2009 and are seeking an injunction and damages. No Doubt agreed to place avatars containing their name and likeness performing three No Doubt songs in the upcoming Band Hero game of the Guitar Hero series from Activision. Without the band’s knowledge or approval Activision turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups.
Additionally Activision allowed the groups character to be isolated into solo performances of these cover songs and placed randomly in countless variations contrary to the agreement between the parties. Despite repeated requests by the band that Activision honor its contract Activision has refused claiming the necessary fix would be too expensive.
Statement from Activision:
Some of the world’s most popular and iconic artists have been featured in Guitar Hero as playable characters, and we are proud to count No Doubt among them. Activision has a written agreement to use No Doubt in Band Hero — an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with its representatives, who collectively have decades of experience in the entertainment industry. Pursuant to that agreement, Activision worked with No Doubt and the band’s management in developing Band Hero. As a result, Activision believes it is within its legal rights with respect to the use and portrayal of the band members in the game and that this lawsuit is without merit. Activision is exploring its own legal options with respect to No Doubt’s obligations under the agreement.
Unfortunately for Activision, this isn't the first time they have been accused of this particular crime. Fans of
Guitar Hero 5, another game by Activision, were surprised to find that the avatar of the late Kurt Cobain, assigned as a default avatar in the game, was enabled to play any other song on the designated song list. People designated Cobain to play everything from David Bowie to Judas Priest. Courtney Love, the widow of Kurt Cobain, protested against this because she was under the impression that she only granted permission to use Cobain's image with corresponding Nirvana songs.
