Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N’ Roses, has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard over the use of former guitarist Slash in conjunction with Guns N’ Roses material. Rose filed the complaint yesterday morning noting that after Slash’s split from the band, Guns N’ Roses was “careful not to license any use of the band's name and intellectual property that would further perpetuate the confusion in the public mind between Slash and Guns N' Roses." He explains that Activision was fully aware of his concerns during talks to license the band’s song “Welcome to the Jungle” for Guitar Hero III, starting in February of 2007.
Rose said that at the time he did not want “any imagery of Slash or the songs of [Velvet Revolver] to be used in association or conjunction with Guns N' Roses material.” He made it emphatically clear that he did not want the game to feature any “images, avatars or other characters of any of the old lineup or then-current lineup of Guns N' Roses or [Velvet Revolver].” According to Rose, Activision confirmed that no images of former or current Guns N’ Roses members would be used in the game, and that the song would not be used to promote Slash or his new band.
Court documents mentioned an email to Rose from Activision music licensing coordinator Brandon Young, stating that Velver Revolver would not appear in the game. A month later, Velvet Revolver was announced as having songs in Guitar Hero III. To appease Rose, Activision agreed to remove the songs from GHIII and once again confirmed that Slash would not appear in the game or be featured in conjunction with “Welcome to the Jungle.”
Guitar Hero fans know exactly how that went. Upon release, Slash was featured in direct connection with the song and as a playable avatar. The Velvet Revolver tracks were later released as downloadable content.
Rose is claiming breach of contract, fraud and unjust enrichment in the lawsuit, all to the tune of $20 million.
[Thanks 1UP]
