AXL ROSE's Lawsuit Against ACTIVISION To Go To Trial In January

March 10, 2011

According to DailyBreeze.com, GUNS N' ROSES frontman and sole original member Axl Rose's $20 million lawsuit against game publisher Activision Blizzard, Inc. for using a GUNS song in its "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" video game will take place early next year, a judge said today. After a short conference with attorneys in chambers, Judge Charles Palmer scheduled the trial for January 23.

Rose has sued game publisher Activision for $20 million. Rose claims in his lawsuit that the company's use of the GUNS song "Welcome To The Jungle" in Guitar Hero III violated an agreement the publisher made with him not to use any images of former GUNS guitarist Slash in the game.

A copy of the court documents filed by Rose's attorneys can be found at RadarOnline.com (PDF file).

The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that Activision persuaded Rose to authorize the use of "Jungle" by telling him that the game would not feature any reference or mention of not only Slash, but his post-GUNS band VELVET REVOLVER. According to the suit, "(Activision) began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and VR prominently in GH III but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and GUNS N' ROSES and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle'."

Rose apparently found out that a character resembling Slash would appear in Guitar Hero II and immediately refused to allow "Jungle" to be used, but claims that Activision lied to him and said the image was just being used for marketing purposes. However, the singer became enraged when he got a copy of Guitar Hero III, which featured the Slash character heavily in the game and even on the cover.

Rose also claims that the GUNS song "Sweet Child O' Mine" was used in an online promotion for Guitar Hero III despite being licensed only for Guitar Hero II.

Rose's lawyer, Skip Miller, said, "This lawsuit is about protecting GUNS N' ROSES and 'Welcome to the Jungle' and is about holding Activision accountable for its misuse of these incredibly valuable assets."

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