Rant
Maroon 5 Singer Suing Activision
Front man and guitarist for Maroon 5, Adam Levine, is filing a lawsuit against Activision over an overstepping of boundaries in their rhythm game Band Hero.
Levine, who participated in the development of the game to feature in the single Maroon 5 song that’s available “She Will Be Loved,” claims to have an issue with Activision’s breach of their agreement. Activision made Levine’s avatar useable in any of the 60+ songs that are featured in Band Hero, an aspect of the game that Levine never condoned, or agreed to.
On top of this, Levine’s avatar is able to sing with voices other than his own, including female voices.
According to The Wrap, Levine is suing for fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, violation of the common-law right of publicity, and unfair business acts or practices, and is seeking unspecified damages.
This isn’t the first time that Activision has pissed someone off with abusing a star’s Avatar. Apparently Courtney Love, Kurt Cobain’s former…gal, attempted to sue Activision over the same issue, although in prime Courtney Love fashion she didn’t really have all the facts straight and Activision countered with this,
"Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero 5."
I smell some foul play on Activision’s end. At the very least I don’t think this encourages future partnerships between Activision and celebrities.
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On the one hand some gamers may want to use his avatar all through the game, on the other I don't like Activision and if they signed a very specific agreement they should stick to it.