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Legal
No Doubt sue Activision over Band Hero
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 6 November 2009
No Doubt are suing Activision over their ‘Guitar Hero’ variation ‘Band Hero’.
The band’s objections echo those raised by Courtney Love and the surviving members of Nirvana over Kurt Cobain’s inclusion in ‘Guitar Hero 5’: that artists featured in the pretend-to-play franchise can be unlocked so that their animated representations sing songs other than their own.
No Doubt agreed that they could be used in ‘Band Hero’, but don’t like the fact that the Gwen Stefani ‘character’ can sing songs by other artists. They reckon that goes against their agreement with the gaming giant, and have filed legal papers in Los Angeles accusing Activision of breach of contract and fraudulent inducement.
The band’s manager, Jim Guerinot, told Rolling Stone that the band were “mortified” when they found out that their ‘characters’ could sing songs by other artists, and also that they could be isolated from the rest of the band and could be used to perform tracks inappropriate to their gender.
The group say that they contacted Activision with their concerns, but the company say that they’ve acted within their rights based on “an agreement signed by No Doubt after extensive negotiations with its representatives”. Given the legal action, the band presumably view the matter differently.
