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Legal
Judge gives all clear for full court hearing in No Doubt v Activision
By CMU Editorial | Published on Wednesday 30 May 2012
A judge in LA has rejected a motion by Activision to dismiss various elements of No Doubt’s previously reported lawsuit against the gaming firm over their appearance in the video game ‘Band Hero’.
As previously reported, while No Doubt agreed to appear in the sing-along game, they say they were misled about the way their likenesses would be integrated into the gaming franchise, in particular not realising that their avatars in the game could be made to sing other artists’ songs. They aren’t the only music stars to have appeared in a pretend-to-play or sing-along game to subsequently complain about this element, though Activision claims that games of this kind have always worked that way, and no artists were misled about that fact when negotiating their deals.
The gaming giant had wanted the judge to dismiss various claims made in No Doubt’s lawsuit, including allegations of fraud, violation of publicity rights and breach of contract, but Judge Ramona See ruled this week that there were genuine disputes about evidence in these areas that would be best argued in front of a jury. Though the judge did reject the band’s request for an injunction ordered an immediate ban on No Doubt avatars performing other artists’ work in the ‘Band Hero’ game.
A legal rep for No Doubt told reporters that this was just the latest judicial backing his clients had received as Activision tried various ways to get the case dismissed, though the gaming giant said it was now looking forward to presenting its arguments at a full court hearing.
