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Legal
US court denies first amendment defence in No Doubt Band Hero case
By CMU Editorial | Published on Friday 18 February 2011
Activision may be winding down the ‘Hero’ franchises, but some lawsuits relating to the pretend to play games remain. Including that being perused by No Doubt, a component of which was heard in US appeals court this week.
As previously reported, although they did a deal with Activision to appear in the ‘Band Hero’ game, No Doubt objected to the way their avatars could be ‘unlocked’ to play songs other than their own. The band say the gaming firm didn’t have the rights to use their likenesses in that way.
Activision denied any wrongdoing, claiming the artists knew what they were signing up to. That said, it’s thought the agreement between Activision and its artist partners doesn’t actually specifically cover the use of an artist’s avatar in songs other than their own, so this whole area is a bit greyer than the gaming firm originally implied.
Presumably with that in mind, when Activision counter-sued No Doubt they claimed that, whatever their contract with the band said, their use of the band-member’s images in the ‘Band Hero’ game were anyway protected by the US constitution’s freedom-of-speech provisions.
But a US judge last year disagreed with that element of the gaming giant’s litigation and struck if from their legal claim. Activision appealed, but this week, according to the LA Times, a US appeals court confirmed the earlier ruling.
This means No Doubt can now continue with their lawsuit.
