14 DAY TRIAL // No Doubt has won an initial court battle with publisher Activision Blizzard in a lawsuit alleging that the likenesses of the band were used in music simulation titles without the members receiving compensation from the videogame company. A judge has ruled that the use does not fall, as Activision has claimed, under the protection of free speech granted under the First Amendment. The publisher has announced that it will appeal the decision.
Gwen Stefani, Tony Kanal, Adrian Young and Tom Dumont, the people who made up No Doubt, filed a suit in November 2009 claiming that “without the band's knowledge or approval, Activision turned the group into virtual karaoke players by having them perform over 60 additional songs by other musical groups.”
The problem is linked with Band Hero where No Doubt virtual lookalikes can be used by the player in songs, which do not belong to the band, although Activision seems to have only licensed the image of the band to play its own tracks.
Activision filed a countersuit against the band saying that it had refused to do promotional work for the game, even thought it was paid for. It's not clear how the case will play out in the end but other artists might actually take No Doubt's lead if the band wins the suit and aim their legal guns at Activision. Courtney Love, the widow of Kurt Cobain, is also planning legal action because of how the image of the former Nirvana frontman was used in Guitar Hero 5.
The fortunes of the music simulation genre have been falling since 2008, probably in part because of the market saturation brought on by the launch of numerous Guitar Hero spinoffs. Still, it seems that Activision is planning to launch a Guitar Hero 6 this year, with KISS frontman Gene Simmons saying he will be the official voice of the game.