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No Doubt Lawsuit Against Activision Moving Forward

by Brian Leahy, Apr 16, 2010 12:30pm PDT

Last November, band No Doubt sued Activision over the use of the band's likeness in the form of in-game avatars being used in non-No Doubt songs.

The LA Times reports that Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kenji Machida ruled in favor of the band and denied Activision's claim that it could use First Amendment freedom-of-speech rights to cover the use of the band's images for general use.

The case will continue forward. No Doubt's case revolves around the "right-of-publicity" and the band claims it only agreed to have its avatars be seen during No Doubt songs.

Courtney Love has threatened to sue Activision over Kurt Cobain's likeness being used in a similar way in Guitar Hero 5.

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12 Threads | 22 Comments

#1

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By: CapnBiggles x Show Full Post

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I have No Doubt this case will be a success.

Apr 16, 2010 12:33pm PDT

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I have No Doubt this case will be a success. : CapnBiggles
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh i see what you did there : Warbird12345

#21

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By: cell9song x Show Full Post

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Most copyright suits are bullshit but in this case I can somewhat understand it. Particularly with the Kurt Cobain controversy. Seeing him sing johnny cash or other artists songs in their voice is bizzarre at best and disrespectful at worst.

Apr 17, 2010 4:39pm PDT

Most copyright suits are bullshit but in this case I can somewhat understand it. Particularly with the Ku... : cell9song

#17

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By: Waffl3 x Show Full Post

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I side with ANYONE who tries to sue Activision.....Activision deserves it!

Apr 16, 2010 9:31pm PDT

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I side with ANYONE who tries to sue Activision.....Activision deserves it! : Waffl3
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- Boy you really mean it, don't you. : Dong Patrol

#2

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By: ckennedy79 x Show Full Post

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First Amendment defense to use the likeness of a contracted artist? Really? Activision should take those bazillions of dollars from MW2 DLC and get some new attorneys.

Apr 16, 2010 12:49pm PDT

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First Amendment defense to use the likeness of a contracted artist? Really? Activision should take thos... : ckennedy79
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 5 replies.
- Heh, yeah, really. It'd be like me having a contract with them to show people playing Guitar Hero in a g... : -shadin-
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  Made me wonder about Sports games and player likenesses. If that 'First Amendment' argument held up, th... : hawke
  - toggle
    There actually are a lot of first amendment rights vs publicity rights in the sports games. A lot get se... : Masem
    - I imagine they're covered by all the player's association agreements. Certain players (and coaches) are ... : tw3kr

#18

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By: HisDivineOrder x Show Full Post

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Guitar Hero lawsuit threatens the franchise. "Guitar hero's down, it's not that important anyway."

Infinity Ward's big players are fired or quit. "Call of Duty's still making millions!"

Blizzard offers a $25 mount. "The cashcow's still so milkable."

The life and times of Blizzard-Activision.

Apr 16, 2010 11:50pm PDT

Guitar Hero lawsuit threatens the franchise. "Guitar hero's down, it's not that important anyway." In... : HisDivineOrder

#16

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By: Waffl3 x Show Full Post

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I side with ANYONE who tries to sue Activision.....Activision deserves it!

Apr 16, 2010 9:31pm PDT

I side with ANYONE who tries to sue Activision.....Activision deserves it! : Waffl3

#15

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By: Waffl3 x Show Full Post

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I side with ANYONE who tries to sue Activision.....Activision deserves it!

Apr 16, 2010 9:31pm PDT

I side with ANYONE who tries to sue Activision.....Activision deserves it! : Waffl3

#7

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By: finger x Show Full Post

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I'm willing to bet this all spawned from some designer who decided to toss this functionality in as a feature, too. Like, they didn't originally intend for No Doubt, Johnny Cash, Kurt Cobain, and the like to be able to play whatever song they wanted (remember, GH5 does this too with its licensed likenesses) and so it wasn't written in the contract, and then I bet some dude just decided to turn it on anyway.

Apr 16, 2010 1:58pm PDT

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I'm willing to bet this all spawned from some designer who decided to toss this functionality in as a fea... : finger
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- the first game that used these avatars, GH3, they were unlockable characters and playable across all song... : Masem

#9

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By: Ellissd x Show Full Post

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Why wouldn't they just patch this out of the game, apologize and move on?

Apr 16, 2010 2:53pm PDT

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Why wouldn't they just patch this out of the game, apologize and move on? : Ellissd
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
- Because that would admit wrong doing. : steauengeglase

#6

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By: panbient x Show Full Post

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AWESOME... what's next forced paper bag heads so that no ones potential likeness is on a video game stage during a song they don't like?

NO ONE USE GLASSES ON A REGULAR LOOKING GUY DURING BON JOVI!!! THAT'S TOTALLY ME AND I HATE BON JOVI!!! WAAAaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!

Apr 16, 2010 1:54pm PDT

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AWESOME... what's next forced paper bag heads so that no ones potential likeness is on a video game stage... : panbient
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
- Isn't just likeness. They had a contract to use the band as avatars for the bands songs. They then decide... : notext
- Wow, your ignorance is astounding. I guess Activision needs someone on their side, and it sounds like th... : trunk8

#5

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By: bob3578 x Show Full Post

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If this proves successful then other bands could do the same, I really hope they win. Eff Activision.

Apr 16, 2010 1:36pm PDT

If this proves successful then other bands could do the same, I really hope they win. Eff Activision. : bob3578

#3

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By: -shadin- x Show Full Post

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Seems silly to some people, but if that's all they specifically agreed to in their contract, then Activision had no right to do anything else.

Apr 16, 2010 12:50pm PDT

Seems silly to some people, but if that's all they specifically agreed to in their contract, then Activis... : -shadin-

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