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No Doubt Sues Activision for Band Hero Avatar Misuse

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You see your Gwen Stefani avatar step up to the stage.  She begins to belt out, “It’s the honky tonk women; Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues…”

Wait - that’s not by Gwen Stefani and No Doubt – that’s “Honky Tonk Woman” by the Rolling Stones!  That’s the intriguing or perhaps appalling feature (depending on your viewpoint) which players have discovered with Santa-Monica-based Activision’s new Band Hero video game and past Guitar Hero games.  The game’s Character Manipulation Feature allows Stefani and other singers to be transplanted into famous performances by other bands, lip-synching right along.  And it’s a feature that’s landed the game maker in hot legal water.

Controversy over Activision’s Guitar Hero 5 raged in September when Kurt Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, and former bandmates Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic complained about the singer’s likeness being used in a similar fashion.  Activision claimed at the time that it had signed permission from Courtney Love, something she denies.

Now Activision is in trouble again, this time for its new Band Hero video game, just released November 3.  The band No Doubt, whose songs are featured in the game, claims Activision breached the pair’s contract and “transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act.”  No Doubt filed suit Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court requesting damages and the removal of avatars of band members Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Tom Dumont and Adrian Young from the game until the game is edited.

Activision declined comment, but Jim Guerinot, manager of No Doubt was quick to attack the company before the media.  He states, “The band [members] are bitterly disappointed that their name and likeness was taken and used without their permission.  They agreed to play three No Doubt songs as a band. . . . Activision then went and put them in 62 other songs and broke the band up [and] never even asked.”

The legal complaint states that Activision allowed No Doubt avatars to be used with over 60 songs, “many of which include lyrics, contained in iconic songs, which are not appropriate for No Doubt and have not been and would not have been chosen by No Doubt for recordings or public performances.”  It adds, “While No Doubt are avid fans of the Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with the Rolling Stones the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes.”

Reportedly, No Doubt had tried to settle things civilly out of court asking the game to simply be fixed.  They were allegedly blown off by Activision, who said that changing the game would be “too expensive”, according to the lawsuit.  Now things might be getting much more expensive for Activision because of its inaction.

_© 2009, DailyTech