Archive for the 'lawsuit' Tag
November 5th, 2009, 1:27 pm by Jayson Peters
The band No Doubt doesn’t like a feature in the new Band Hero video game that lets players control digital versions of real band members and change things up by making them sing other artists’ songs.
It’s called “character manipulation, and a lawsuit filed Wednesday against Activision claims this lets players have all sorts of bawdy fun by making lead singer Gwen Stefani perform suggestive lyrics from the Rolling Stones hit Honky Tonk Women, for example. It claims the band raised objections but they were not heeded, and the result is a “virtual karaoke circus act.”
No Doubt is seeking unspecified damages and an order barring Activision from using any band members’ likenesses with non-No Doubt songs.
Just a few months ago, the widow and former bandmates of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain railed against Activision for using the late grunge rocker’s likeness to play other artists’ songs in Guitar Hero 5. Before that, the company settled a lawsuit over Brutal Legend, a rock ’n’ roll adventure game starring Jack Black that the company tried to kill after it acquired a smaller developer. The game was published last month by Activision’s rival, Electronic Arts.
Via The Associated Press
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Music • Activision • lawsuit | Post a Comment »
October 5th, 2009, 10:14 pm by Jayson Peters
 PlayStation 3 owners say a mandatory firmware update has ruined their systems, and they’ve launched a class-action lawsuit seeking compensation and restitution.
According to Courthouse News Service, the upgrade promised new features and improved navigation, but caused the gaming console to crash and rendered controllers inoperable. A subsequent update reportedly failed to solve the problem and caused the system’s Blu-ray player to malfunction.
And let’s face it, that Blu-ray player is the only real reason to own a PS3, right?
One plaintiff said Sony wanted $150 to fix the problem. Sony has stated it’s not a firmware issue, and that repair costs are the responsibility of consumers.
The suit is seeking declaratory relief, compensation and restitution for breach of implied warranty, negligence and unjust enrichment.
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Nerd rage • PlayStation 3 • Technology • lawsuit • Sony | 1 Comment »
October 2nd, 2009, 1:54 am by Jayson Peters
Mesa-based Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment and its founder and principal owner are named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by investors who claim he took and used company funds.
Gary Whiting’s company was granted a license by MGM in 2006 to develop an online roleplaying game based on the Stargate film and TV series. Those efforts stalled as the game’s financial backing came into question, but one executive expressed optimism as recently as Aug. 31.
 The suit also names as a defendant Mmoguls, another company owned by Whiting. Mmoguls is described in the court documents as “an incentivized gaming network marketing company through which customers would pay to play online computer games and have the opportunity to create a network through which a customer could be paid by encouraging others to sign up with Mmoguls, Inc.”
If that looks and sounds like it’s too good to be true, you’re not alone. How does MGM feel about their brand’s involvement with such a business model … especially with a brand-new TV series, Stargate Universe, launching TODAY on Syfy, and no lucrative video game to go with it? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Mesa • RPGs • Stargate • Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment • lawsuit • Stargate Worlds | 1 Comment »
September 8th, 2009, 2:16 pm by Jayson Peters
The blessings of the Valar are with us!
The heirs of J.R.R. Tolkien and the movie studio that produced the epic Lord of the Rings film trilogy have settled a lawsuit over profits that threatened to derail an adapation of The Hobbit.
 J.R.R. Tolkien The out-of-court resolution, announced Tuesday and reported by The Associated Press, will not only clear the way for the much-beloved and long-expected prequel, but will also benefit charitable causes worldwide. That’s because The Tolkien Trust, a British charity that manages Tolkien’s estate, is one of the main beneficiaries of the settlement.
Along with publisher HarperCollins, it sued New Line Cinema last year for profits from the 2001-03 movies, pledging to do whatever necessary to protects its rights, up to and including the revocation of the studio’s licensing rights.
Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan’s Labyrinth) is directing the two-part adaptation of The Hobbit, in which Bilbo Baggins goes on a quest to the Lonely Mountain with the wizard Gandalf the Grey and 13 dwarves, and along the way discovers the lost One Ring of Power that rises to such prominence in The Lord of the Rings.
Posted in: Hobbit • Movies • lawsuit • Tolkien | Post a Comment »
August 28th, 2009, 1:29 pm by Jayson Peters
 Electronic Arts is locked in a trademark dispute with a dead gangster.
The video game developer is asking a federal judge to rule that the “Dillinger Tommy Gun” and “Modern Dillinger” weapons in its games The Godfather and The Godfather II don’t violate intellectual property owned by Dillinger LLC, which claims ownership of the rights to the name of Depression-era gangster John Dillinger (pictured, in a public domain FBI photograph. That’s PUBLIC DOMAIN, in case there was any confusion. Sirs).
Posted in: Business • Gaming • Dillinger • Electronic Arts • lawsuit • The Godfather | Post a Comment »
August 25th, 2009, 10:31 pm by Jayson Peters
 A class-action lawsuit filed in Southern California alleges that Facebook invades its customers’ privacy and misappropriates their images and personal information, selling it to other businesses.
A professional photographer who says her work was downloaded from Facebook and distributed without her permission says that the social networking Web site’s claim that it does not sell information is misleading because its privacy policies imply that users have control over what happens to their data.
If you believe that, I’ve got a personality quiz for you to take that isn’t lame. Really!
I’ve always struggled to imagine how a social networking site could possibly make money — especially in this economy — without selling out its users.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go find out what my “Prison Name” is.
Oh. It’s “Sweet Thang.” That was totally worth it!
Via Courthouse News Service
Posted in: Internet • Facebook • lawsuit | Post a Comment »
August 15th, 2009, 10:33 am by Jayson Peters
 TRIBUNE FILE Scottsdale-based Taser International is suing the Canadian government over the findings of an official inquiry that resulted in strict limits on how and when stun guns can be used by law enforcement officers in British Columbia.
See also:
Posted in: Business • Scottsdale • Technology • lawsuit • Taser | Post a Comment »
August 6th, 2009, 1:31 pm by Jayson Peters
| Whew. That was close.
Activision’s attorneys have told a Los Angeles Superior Court judge that they have reached a settlement with Double Fine Productions and no longer seek to stop the release of Brutal Legend, a video game starring actor-musician Jack Black.
Read The Associated Press story. |
See also:
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Posted in: Gaming • Music • Activision • Brutal Legend • Electronic Arts • Jack Black • lawsuit | Post a Comment »
July 31st, 2009, 11:20 am by Jayson Peters
Talk about an ability to kindle up controversy.
 A high school student has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com for deleting an e-book he bought for the e-tailer’s Kindle device, according to a report by The Associated Press. The lawsuit seeks class-action status and unspecified damages for all buyers of e-books that Amazon deleted, plus a ban on future deletions.
Amazon pulled the George Orwell books Animal Farm and 1984 from its e-book inventory July 16 because the particular editions sold were basically bootlegs, and the works are not yet in the public domain here in the United States.
The lawsuit alleges that the student’s notes for a school assignment were “rendered useless” when the content disappeared.
In June, Arizona State University found itself on the receiving end of a lawsuit when advocates for the blind alleged discrimination because the school was offering textbooks in the Kindle format. While the device has the ability to read to the blind, its interface has no audio or Braille functionality to let them navigate the menus.
Posted in: Books • Business • Sci-Fi & Fantasy • Technology • Amazon • e-books • Kindle • lawsuit • Orwell | Post a Comment »
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