Band Sues Over Too-accurate Guitar Hero Cover

maybe they aren't happy with the cover, maybe they didn't have final 'cut' on the decision to use the included version or not.

period point blank, they own the song and can pick and choose how its used.

To the people who actually play this game and are whining about the suit:
- put down the plastic guitar
- pick up a real one
- try to make a living at it

fucking wankers

Seriously of all the bands to sue... some washed out 80s band no one of this generation gave a rats ass about until their song got covered for guitar hero. They should be happy a video game is helping to revive sales of their music. I don't see how they can give permission, and then sue after the fact. That's entrapment, not in the legal sense, but morally. Plus, if this were actually legal, it would mean anyone who did a cover of a song, even after getting permission, is at the mercy of the original artist who can arbitrarily decide that their version is "too similar" (which is the whole point).

I would have more respect for this lawsuit if the band were the Smithereens and the song was Blood And Roses.

I think the point is that they gave their permission to do a cover. If the publisher wanted to use their actual version, then the cost would be higher.

The cover comes in and it is a near perfect simulation of their version, which is basically an end-run around their property rights. The publisher gets what they wanted, which is the original version of the song, and they pay for a second hand version of it.

The publisher has fucked the property holder, and the property holder has a right to pursue them for it.

If I make a perfect simulation of a photograph by a famous photographer, and try to publish it, I will also run into copyright issues and property issues. That's how it works. You can cover it, but you can't simulate it to perfection, else it overlaps with the actual property and is not an interpretation (cover) of the song.

I hope they get embarrased more then they've done themselves

"What I like about you? You really know how to make me cash...

Work all day, make a game, than ill come and sue your ass... YEAH!"

Srsly, when will this intellectual property madness stop?

The guy who does the guitar hero covers is pretty amazing. In the last guitar world magazine he basically goes to all lengths to replicate the guitar tone in the song. In fact, for one of the lamb of god songs, he watched the Killadelphia dvd and was able to see settings on an amp in the background during an interview with the guitarist.

I don't blame them if GH3 people had no permission.

But they did. so Wally should stfd and be happy his ancient song is being played for a new gen.

Cry
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Noob

This is the funniest lawsuit of the year.

The thought of this kind of thing crossed my mind when I saw a guy playing GH at Frys. People were standing there watching the show. Is this an example of 'free exhibition not for profit'? Shouldn't someone get paid? :)

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071121-your-song-in-guitar-hero-equals-a-big-jump-in-digital-sales.html

Oho, this is pretty sweet.

That song is annoying as shit anyway.

You know where this is going next. First they sue the source of the copyrighted material, they they sue everyone else who nails 100%. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS7_3cGQizo

if they gave permission to use the song (and i cant imagine that harmonix wouldnt have covered their bases there), then what kind of legal ground do they have to stand on?

The Hendrix estate specifically does not allow people to imitate Jimi when covering his songs, which is why the Hendrix tune in GH1 has no lyrics.

There was nothing to stop The Romantics from making the same stipulation if they were really concerned about this sort of thing.

But no, just another band happy to license their music and then sue when it makes more money than they expected.

Fuck you for making this song, Romantics. I'm way better at it with my plastic guitar than you ever were. Fags.

Sucks not making money as a washed up band doesn't it?

As far as I know, anyone is technically allowed to make a cover recording as long as what are known as "mechanical royalties" are paid to the original songwriter... I dunno if there's anything legally different about putting a cover song in a video game vs. on a CD, but I know this is how it works when a band records a cover song on a CD.

"Detroit-based rock band The Romantics, the 80s group most famous for its song "What I Like About You," has sued Guitar Hero publisher Activision, claiming that the cover recording of the famous song in Harmonix's Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s is too similar to the original version."

Translation:

"Some band that did like maybe 1 or 2 hit songs over two decades ago has sued Guitar Hero publisher Activision, claiming that they are flat ass broke and have been since 1982. They've been playing small pubs and casinos in the metro area of Boise, Idaho ever since."

Fucking Lol. Great way to win fans over.

Too bad that song is one of the most un-fun in "GH: Rocks the 80's". I passed it once on expert and I'll never play it again.

fucking assholes

I'm trying to find something nice to say about them to sort of raise the level of this conversation but.. no. Can't find anything.
I can roll my eyes, would that do?

This is why we can't have nice things.

The douchebaggery is strong with this one.

haha... completely ridiculous.
Just imagine if the cover was bad as shit: The band would sue Activision because gamers would would associate the band with the game.

Here's my question: did the makers of GH3 ask the Romantics to use the recordings or their song first and get rejected? It probably won't matter in the long run this time since the whole gig here was to have someone else cover the song anyway but there is some legal precedent.

Back in College I took this course on legal matters in the business school. The prof told us a story of some ad agency who wanted to have Bette Midler sing in some car commercial. Bette Midler refused, since she didn't do commercials (especially not for cars, her being the environmentalist nut and all). The ad agency then decided to go and hire Bette Midler's vocal coach. As my prof told us, "she didn't sound like Bette Midler, she sounded EXACTLY like Bette Midler".

Midler goes on to sue the ad agency and wins because they used her likeness, even though it wasn't her or even overtly implied it was her. The main reason she could win is that they used one of her songs and they had approached her first.

Now like I said, I don't necessarily think that this applies here since, if Activision got proper permission from all the right persons including the group, they've probably got their butts covered. But it does seem pretty similar and the Romantics might have a leg to stand on if this Bette Midler legal precedent stands up.

Kinda like how Lady Miss Keir sued Sega because Sega approached her to be the character in Space Channel 5 and when she refused, they just came up with a character that was a hell of a lot like Lady Miss Keir and used it instead. But as far as I can tell that lawsuit went nowhere and this one won't go anywhere either.

Seriously behaving like idiots. If anything their inclusion in Guitar Hero would've just been good advertising for them, but now they come off as assgobbling donkeys

Yeah, why would you want to introduce a whole new generation to your music? Madness.

I thought they were dead. Now I wish they were.

how romantic?