Activision countersues No Doubt, which is likely not feeling ‘Hella Good’
Last month, the extremely certain pop-rock outfit No Doubt sued Activision for allowing their likenesses to be used in Band Hero, where players could perform the game’s entire catalog of songs as the Stefani-fronted group. According to the complaint, this feature turned the band’s appearance in the game into a “virtual karaoke circus act.” Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter dug up a countersuit filed against the band by Activision, who claimed No Doubt was in breach of a contract between the two parties, and had reaped unjust enrichment as a result.
Activision’s main response to No Doubt’s claim is that that the band requested their likenesses be limited to perform the band’s own songs in-game — however, it made this request “only after the Band Hero programming was finalized.” Activision seeks an unspecified amount of damages and interest from the band, as well as court and attorney fees, and a return of all payments dispersed to the band for their initial involvement. Jeez, Activision. Might as well go ahead and ask for the kitchen sink while you’re at it.
[Via GamePolitics]
Activision countersues No Doubt, which is likely not feeling ‘Hella Good’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Erik ‘Pro Plaintiff’ Estavillo assures us he won’t sue anyone else, giving half his money ‘to God’ [update]
![99964_lawsuitthegame580pxheaderimg Erik Pro Plaintiff Estavillo assures us he wont sue anyone else, giving half his money to God [update]](http://wii.wowgoldit.com/wp-content/plugins/wp-o-matic/cache/99964_lawsuitthegame580pxheaderimg.jpg "Erik Pro Plaintiff Estavillo assures us he wont sue anyone else, giving half his money to God [update]")
Erik Estavillo has been given a handful of nicknames by the press recently - he listed “Professional/PSN Plaintiff,” “The Serial Suer” and a few others when he spoke with Joystiq this morning. He assured us though, time and time again, “That WoW lawsuit, that’s my final lawsuit. So people know, I’m not suing any more companies.” In case you missed it, Estavillo is currently engaged in four separate lawsuits - one with Microsoft, one with Nintendo, one with Sony (in both Federal and State court), and one with Activision Blizzard. “One lawsuit for each major console maker and one for the PC, so four total,” he clarified to us.
Aside from seeking money (anywhere from as low as $180 to $1 million, depending on the case), we asked Estavillo what his intentions were behind launching the multiple lawsuits. “What I wanted to do was exploit the weakness of each console and show that they’re not impervious to flaws … each console has a flaw and they should fix it,” he said. During the interview as well as in some of his court filings, Estavillo claimed to be suffering from a variety of psychological maladies, and has repeatedly stated that he uses online gaming as his primary form of communication. “I told this other interviewer and it’s true - I actually have no friends. I rely on online gameplay for socialization.”
Though he’s yet to win a case, his first (by default) could come as soon as December 3 - the end of Sony’s 30 days to respond to a summons. If he does, that would mean $180,000 and a “no contest” ruling against Sony. Though he said he’ll keep some of the money he may win, he noted that, “Half the money I get is gonna go to God. I’m giving half the money I get to CBN [Christian Broadcasting Network], local churches, charities, or poor people on the street.”
We talked to Estavillo about a variety of other topics - from what games he plays to why he’s subpoenaing celebrities instead of experts - but due to sheer length we’ve broken the rest of the interview out after the break.
Update: Erik Estavillo emailed us this evening to say that Sony has responded to his summons, thus closing out the possibility of a default settlement. The first hearing will be in early 2010.
Erik ‘Pro Plaintiff’ Estavillo assures us he won’t sue anyone else, giving half his money ‘to God’ [update] originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
LaCie packs 2TB HDD, DLNA support into LaCinema Classic HD
LaCie’s LaCinema Classic multimedia hard drive was a fine device, but if you’re anything like us, you’re never perfectly satisfied. Thus, we’re stoked to see the outfit issuing a revamped version of the aforesaid device today, with the LaCinema Classic HD including up to 2TB of internal storage space, (optional) 802.11n WiFi and built-in DLNA server capabilities. As you’d expect, this sexy black block will stream multimedia from your Mac or PC onto your HDTV, and the included HDMI port (and cable) should ensure that transfers remain gorgeous. We’re told that format support won’t be an issue, and if you’re a believer, you can get your pre-order in now for $249.99 (1TB). Rear shot is after the break.
Continue reading LaCie packs 2TB HDD, DLNA support into LaCinema Classic HD
LaCie packs 2TB HDD, DLNA support into LaCinema Classic HD originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | 
LaCie | Email this | Comments
Banned PSN player sues Nintendo and Microsoft
After being banned from the PlayStation Network for hateful comments stated in Resistance’s online community, Erik Estavillo launched not one, but two, lawsuits against Sony for infringing on his “first amendment rights” — an argument that was shot down by Judge Ronald Whyte simply because “Sony is not part of the government.”
However, what Estavillo lacks in civil online discourse, he makes up for with sheer determination and persistence. In addition to Sony, he now has both Microsoft and Nintendo in his sights. Estavillo is seeking $75,000 from Microsoft for the “undue stress” and “sadness” caused by his Xbox 360’s RROD. “Microsoft should have to bear the burden that is now put on the shoulders of this disabled plaintiff,” his claim states — a burden that is equivalent to the sum of 375 Xbox 360 systems, apparently. Nintendo is being sued for interfering with Estavillo’s “pursuit of happiness.” And how exactly is Nintendo doing that? “Deleting, blocking or prohibiting the Homebrew Channel and Ocarina applications” via a system update.
We’re hoping you can see the sheer brilliance of Estavillo’s strategy. He’s offering the perfect opportunity for PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo fans to agree on something for once.
Banned PSN player sues Nintendo and Microsoft originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
AT&T loses request for injunction against Verizon’s Map for That ads
Looks like AT&T’s not getting its holiday wish after all — a federal judge just ruled against Ma Bell’s request to have Verizon’s Map For That ads pulled off the air. That doesn’t mean that this whole thing is over, though: the judge called the ads “sneaky” and said that it was possible people might misunderstand them because “most people who are watching TV are semi-catatonic.” Whether or not that’s enough to support a legal conclusion that the ads are misleading is a fight for another day — specifically December 16th, when AT&T will have a second chance to argue its case. Still, this is a big win for Verizon — everyone ready to be inundated with these ads for the next month?
Filed under: Cellphones
AT&T loses request for injunction against Verizon’s Map for That ads originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
No Doubt suing Activision for Band Hero ‘circus act’ appearance
The multi-platinum rock band No Doubt has filed a lawsuit against Activision in a L.A. County Superior Court claiming its likeness was “transformed” into a “virtual karaoke circus act” in over sixty songs in the recently released music title, Band Hero. According to TMZ, No Doubt claims gamers were only supposed to be able to use their likeness with three of its own tracks; however, the band is available as playable characters through the game’s entire music catalog.
Of particular note is lead singer Gwen Stefani’s displeasure that her likeness can be used to sing “Honky Tonk Woman” by the Rolling Stones — a song which references sex with prostitutes — using a male voice and mannerisms. For its “circus act” inclusion, No Doubt is seeking an injunction to halt the “unauthorized use” of the band’s name and likeness, as well as an unknown amount of damages (aka mad monies). Seems like Activision can’t keep rock stars happy, dead or alive.
[Via TeamXbox]
No Doubt suing Activision for Band Hero ‘circus act’ appearance originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Nintendo, Capcom, friends file suit over DS piracy-enabling R4 sales
Faced with The Truth that - regardless of what sorts of anti-piracy technology it folds into its DS platform - pirates will invariably hack the dual-screened handheld, Nintendo has buddied up with Capcom and 53 other video game publishers in Japan to file suit against four resellers of the popular R4 flash cartridge.
Earlier this year, a Tokyo court banned the sale of the devices; however, Capcom now says that “legal action has had no meaningful effect in the intervening period” and that sellers would “ignore” its warnings. Enter: a new lawsuit, which Capcom hopes leads to a ruling that acknowledges “our company and other software manufactures have sustained [extreme] damages from proliferation of illegal instruments.” Seems pretty cut and dry to us, but we’ll let the courts decide.
Nintendo, Capcom, friends file suit over DS piracy-enabling R4 sales originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Jack Kirby Estate Sues Everyone, Claims Ownership of Every Major Marvel Character
Jack Kirby co-created countless characters for Marvel, including the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Avengers, etc. His estate has sent out 45 notices of copyright infringement to such companies as Marvel Entertainment, Disney, Paramount, Sony and others, insisting they intended to own the full copyright for every character by 2014. This could be a major problem for Disney, who recently purchased Marvel.
Under copyright law, the author or his heirs can begin a process to regain copyrights a certain period of years after the original grant. If Mr. Kirby’s four children were to gain the copyright to a co-created character, they might become entitled to a share of profits from films or other properties using it. They might also find themselves able to sell rights to certain characters independently of Marvel, Disney, or the various studios that have licensed the Marvel properties for their hit films.
In July, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that Warner Brothers and its DC Comics unit had not violated rights of the Siegel heirs in handling internal transactions related to Superman, but an earlier ruling had already granted the heirs a return of their share in the copyright. In the late 1990s, Mr. Toberoff represented a television writer, Gilbert Ralston, who sued Warner over the rights to the film “Wild, Wild West.” The suit was ultimately settled.
Copyright issues have become increasingly difficult for Hollywood, as it continues to trade on characters and stories that were created decades ago, but are now subject to deadlines and expiration dates under federal copyright law.
[Editor's Note: It's both interesting and sad to see how litigious the comic book industry is. In order to stay in business and to only spend tens of thousands of dollars defending ourselves rather than the necessary millions (???), by agreement we aren't allowed to discuss the matter's details, but we have been under legal threats and attacks ourselves in the recent past. Who with, you wonder? What about? Well what do you think of the cool fictional photoshop work below? Neat, huh? Yeah, child's college fund and an entire retirement savings worth of "neat". It's quite inspiring illuminating to see super-heroes® in action first-hand.]
Activision: Courtney Love agreed to Cobain avatar
This morning, we reported on Courtney Love’s tweeted allegations that the ghastly Kurt Cobain avatar was included in Guitar Hero 5 without her consent. Though the company didn’t mention whether or not the lawsuit has actually been filed against them, Activision just sent us a statement refuting Love’s claims:
“Guitar Hero secured the necessary licensing rights from the Cobain estate in a written agreement signed by Courtney Love to use Kurt Cobain’s likeness as a fully playable character in Guitar Hero(r) 5.”
Maybe Love did sign off on it, but just doesn’t remember. There, we said it. We were all thinking it anyway.
Activision: Courtney Love agreed to Cobain avatar originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
Bandspeed claims Sony, Nintendo, Apple infringed on its patents
Wireless broadcasting technology news now courtesy of Patent Arcade, which presents us with a lawsuit filed by Bandspeed against Sony, Nintendo and Apple. It has to do with a pair of Bandspeed patents dealing with “selecting communications channels” and “managing communications channels” based on performance and the company claims Nintendo’s Wii, Sony’s PS3 and Apple’s iPhone 3G infringed upon ‘em.
What? That’s it, guys. There isn’t anything else. The post is over.
Bandspeed claims Sony, Nintendo, Apple infringed on its patents originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Top 10 Best Selling Games
-
