Guns ‘N Roses frontman Axl Rose’s lawsuit against Activision will proceed to court. Rose first sued Activision back in 2010 for fraud and breach-of-contract, alleging that the publisher misused Guns ‘N Roses songs and imagery in its Guitar Hero games and marketing. While Rose’s claims of fraud have been dismissed, a judge has now decided that the $20 million breach-of-contract suit has legs and will move to trial in February 2013.
Rose claims that Activision “fraudulently induced” him into licensing the use of the song Welcome to the Jungle, promising that no reference to Slash or his band Velvet Revolver would appear in Guitar Hero III. Instead, Slash was not only prominently featured in the game, but actually provided an original track and appeared on the cover. Activision alleges that Rose waited too long to file his suit -- the game was released in October 2007 yet the lawsuit wasn’t filed until November 2010 -- and that the suit is outside of the statute of limitations.
“The reason I did not file a lawsuit is because Activision, through my managers and representatives, offered me a separate video game and other business proposals worth millions of dollars to resolve and settle my claims relating to Guitar Hero III,” Rose responded in a deposition. "From December 2007 through November 2010, Activision was offering me a Guns 'N Roses dedicated video game, a game dedicated to music from the Chinese Democracy album and other proposals."
Rose’s attorney, Skip Miller, says the trial will be “very interesting” and argues that multiple emails were sent to Activision objecting to Slash being included in Guitar Hero III, but the game was released anyway. Activision responded, arguing that “Rose had no authority to enter into a license for Welcome to the Jungle in his individual capacity because he does not own the song or the sound recording” and that even Rose admitted “Unanimous approval by all three partners of GNR Music is required before any license to use Guns 'N Roses music is given."
Activision says that there’s no basis for breach of contract since Rose shouldn’t have been able to make a deal on his own in the first place, but it will be up to a judge to decide once the case goes to court next year. Miller, meanwhile, is pleased that only the breach of contract case (and not the fraud claim) will be headed to court, as "damages and harm will be the same with a lower burden of proof.”
We’ve reached out to Activision for comment about the lawsuit and will update with any statement they provide.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
Andrew Goldfarb is IGN’s associate news editor. Keep up with pictures of the latest food he’s been eating by following him on Twitter or IGN.
Source : ign[dot]com
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar