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Activision rolled for too much avatar rock

Band Hero upsets real life rock star

Activision has attracted to legal ire of yet another disgruntled rock star objecting to animated immortalization in Guitar Hero spinoff game Band Hero.

Joining the litigious ranks of the estate of Nirvana, Axl Rose and No Doubt, the latest issue comes from Adam Levine, the lead singer of Maroon 5.

Levine has filed a law suit against Activision last week at Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming that Band Hero “exploits his name and likeness” beyond what he had originally agreed on.

According to reports from TheWrap, Levine has originally negotiated for the gaming giant to use the Maroon 5 song "She Will Be Loved" for the game, performing the song for motion-capture to create an avatar.

The new version of the game includes a new feature that allows users to make the avatar perform a catalogue of songs by other artists and in other artists voices including female voices.

Levine is suing for fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, violation of the common-law right of publicity, and unfair business acts or practices and is seeking unspecified damages.

He also claimed that he received a lower fee than other Band Hero artists. Last year No Doubt filed a very similar lawsuit against Activision over Band Hero, claiming their actions turned the band into "virtual karaoke players".

In November last year Axl Rose launched a $20 million suit against Activision claiming they had "spun a web of lies and deception" by including an animation of Guns and Roses ex- guitairist Slash in the video-game version of his band in the Guitar Hero game.

Activision also faced the wrath of the estate of former Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain who threatened legal action over 2009′s Guitar Hero 5, which contained a playable Cobain character who could perform any song in the game. ®

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