14 DAY TRIAL // Activision decided it was in the right and began to fight back against No Doubt in their ongoing lawsuit related to how the image of the band and its members was portrayed in the music simulation series. On December 3, the videogame publisher filed a counterclaim in court in which it levels a host of accusations against No Doubt, including breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
The members of No Doubt, the well known Gwen Stefani, Tam Dumont, Tony Kanal, and Adrian Young, sued Activision because they were unhappy with the fact that the in-game characters that looked like them could be used to perform dance moves judged to be out of character and could even have their voice altered in order to perform songs not featured in the band's catalog. They asked for compensation from Activision and also claimed that the publisher had not warned them about how the game would portray them before signing the contract.
Activision fired back by telling the court that “it has been publicly known that certain users of Guitar Hero video games are able to 'unlock' in-game characters and then can choose to play songs performed by other artists using 'unlocked' characters.” The company that publishes the Guitar Hero series is also claiming that No Doubt has not honored their obligations to promote the game in public appearances and that they have been getting revenue derived from the title at the same time as they were criticizing it. Activision is seeking to get money returned by the band.
Most industry watchers agree that the publisher is probably in the right here, as No Doubt might have been advised in regards to how their likenesses would be used before they signed the contract for their Guitar Hero appearance.