Courtney Love Threatens Guitar Hero 5 Lawsuit Over Kurt Cobain Avatar
Courtney Love Threatens Guitar Hero 5 Lawsuit Over Kurt Cobain Avatar
September 11, 2009
Video game blogs and message boards have been debating the appropriateness of Kurt Cobain’s posthumous inclusion as a playable character in the recently released Guitar Hero 5. Some think it’s a welcome tribute, others find it a bit creepy if not outright distasteful.
But what does Cobain’s widow Courtney Love think? Well, one needs look no further than her Twitter account:
For the record this Guitar Hero [expletive] is breach of contract on a Bullys part and there will be a proper addressing of this and retraction. WE are going to sue the [expletive] out of Activision we being the Trust the Estate the LLC the various LLCs Cobain Enterprises.
While Love’s main gripe seems to be the appearance of Cobain’s character model and a feature that allows it to perform other artist’s songs, Activision Vice President Tim Riley told The Guardian that she was very cooperative in the creation of the game:
Courtney supplied us with photos and videos. She picked the wardrobe and hairstyle, which turned out to be the 'Teen Spirit' look, then we went back and forth over changes – some subtle, some not so subtle.
Love, for her part, doesn’t seem to agree:
Activision is fulllo f sh*t... i never intended to APPROVE this sh*t, they are doing a recall you can be sure of that… wait til you see what my lovely lawyer has cooked up, i never ever signed off on this.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that surviving Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl are also unhappy with the use of Cobain’s likeness:
While we were aware of Kurt's image being used with two Nirvana songs, we didn't know players have the ability to unlock the character. This feature allows the character to be used with any kind of song the player wants. We urge Activision to do the right thing in 're-locking' Kurt's character so that this won't continue in the future.
Activision defended itself in a statement released Thursday, saying that it “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 5.”
-Reporting from San Diego, GamePolitics Senior Correspondent Andrew Eisen…
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Posted 03/19/10 at 06:42pm
Valdearg: Sage advice, Zip. Sage advice.
Valdearg: Sage advice, Zip. Sage advice.
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:37pm
ZippyDSMlee: Don;t talk to MS/LIve users that you do not know....is jsut easier that way...
ZippyDSMlee: Don;t talk to MS/LIve users that you do not know....is jsut easier that way...
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:14pm
Flamespeak: Didm't steal anything or other people not knowing what the heck Tribes was but felt inclined to tell me it wasn't Halo.
Flamespeak: Didm't steal anything or other people not knowing what the heck Tribes was but felt inclined to tell me it wasn't Halo.
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:13pm
Flamespeak: stealing 'new' game ideas from Tribes while marketing them as something 'new and shiny'." I was blasted by people claiming Halo
Flamespeak: stealing 'new' game ideas from Tribes while marketing them as something 'new and shiny'." I was blasted by people claiming Halo
Posted 03/19/10 at 06:12pm
Flamespeak: I told some Halo fans that 'with the inclusion of jet packs in Reach, Halo has successfully completed its mission of totally
Flamespeak: I told some Halo fans that 'with the inclusion of jet packs in Reach, Halo has successfully completed its mission of totally
Posted 03/19/10 at 05:39pm
Valdearg: @JDKJ: Well, it's not like you were very subtle, there..
Valdearg: @JDKJ: Well, it's not like you were very subtle, there..
Posted 03/19/10 at 05:18pm
JDKJ: @Val": You got me there. That one was pure troll. And posted in memory of DarkSaber, who hasn't been around much, lately.
JDKJ: @Val": You got me there. That one was pure troll. And posted in memory of DarkSaber, who hasn't been around much, lately.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:36pm
Andrew Eisen: JDKJ - Probably the widow/widower.
Andrew Eisen: JDKJ - Probably the widow/widower.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:who gives a shit about you :P
ZippyDSMlee: JD:who gives a shit about you :P
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:33pm
Valdearg: Lol.. Wow, JDKJ. Troll much?
Valdearg: Lol.. Wow, JDKJ. Troll much?
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:27pm
JDKJ: Who gives a rat's ass about the children of fallen soldiers?
JDKJ: Who gives a rat's ass about the children of fallen soldiers?
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:16pm
Andrew Eisen: I completely agree.
Andrew Eisen: I completely agree.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:15pm
Valdearg: If they really wanted to help the troops, they should donate their money to a legitimate charity with a good cash in/out ratio.
Valdearg: If they really wanted to help the troops, they should donate their money to a legitimate charity with a good cash in/out ratio.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:14pm
Valdearg: It's just offensive that people who attend these things think they are helping the troops, when in reality, Hannity is using MOST of the money to live large in the cities he travels to. He could at least scale down his accommodations..
Valdearg: It's just offensive that people who attend these things think they are helping the troops, when in reality, Hannity is using MOST of the money to live large in the cities he travels to. He could at least scale down his accommodations..
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:13pm
Andrew Eisen: Val - But they did get something and that's better than nothing. Also, the Freedom Concert site is clear that expenses are subtracted from the donated amount so while it’s not fraud (from what little I’ve seen) it is pretty crummy.
Andrew Eisen: Val - But they did get something and that's better than nothing. Also, the Freedom Concert site is clear that expenses are subtracted from the donated amount so while it’s not fraud (from what little I’ve seen) it is pretty crummy.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:12pm
ZippyDSMlee: fou fundrasier, from a fou consertive, who would have thought :P.
ZippyDSMlee: fou fundrasier, from a fou consertive, who would have thought :P.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:11pm
Valdearg: The problem, Zip, is that barely ANY of the proceeds are going to the children. It's all going so hannity can line his own pockets and enjoy a life of luxury. He is a grade A Piece of Human Crap.
Valdearg: The problem, Zip, is that barely ANY of the proceeds are going to the children. It's all going so hannity can line his own pockets and enjoy a life of luxury. He is a grade A Piece of Human Crap.
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:09pm
ZippyDSMlee: Hanaity cn afford to pay for it himself so all proceeds go to the childernz or whatever. .....
ZippyDSMlee: Hanaity cn afford to pay for it himself so all proceeds go to the childernz or whatever. .....
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:09pm
ZippyDSMlee: But anyway you want to pad your rep with a funrasier get 80% to the people its suppose to go to....
ZippyDSMlee: But anyway you want to pad your rep with a funrasier get 80% to the people its suppose to go to....
Posted 03/19/10 at 02:03pm
ZippyDSMlee: VLag:thats ture but alot of cop and fireman and other thigns are under 10% to what they give to what they are raising money for
ZippyDSMlee: VLag:thats ture but alot of cop and fireman and other thigns are under 10% to what they give to what they are raising money for
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Comments
You know... Activision COULD be lying, that's a possibility.
But even if they were (and I doubt it), why the hell would I care what Courtney Love thinks about it if she thinks the only place reporting on it that'll matter is her fucking Twitter? Nevermind the lack of professionalism besides, if they have her signature, it's fucking over.
Why would Activision lie about having a sign and legal bounding document. I mean, they would have to produce such a document in order to defeat the lawsuit, so it would be useless to lie about it.
My point is that if Courtney wanted to make such a claim (a possibility, but again, we know they're not), she would have had the good sense not to post it on Twitter like anybody was going to take her seriously. She should have at least had the sense to be coherent and civil about it...
... Who am I kidding, this is Courtney Love, innit.
To me it seems she is implying she signed off on the likeness, but she thought it was for only the Nirvana songs. Whereas Activision seems to be saying the contract was for all songs.
Could she have been intentionally duped? Plausible.
Could she have simply not been paying enough attention to what she was signing away? Much more probable.
Perhaps a bit of both.
WTF? Is she on crack? oh wait.....
I'm guessing she needed a fix and some quick cash from Activision was what she needed. Then when she sobered up she didn't remember signing any rather legally binding documents. And I don't think "well I was seriously fucked up" will hold up in court.
-Ultimately what will do in mankind is a person's fear of their own freedom-
Actually it might. Mental incapacatation has been used as grounds to anul a contract, usually marrage contracts but what the hell.
Hunting the shadows of the troubled dreams.
Any incapacitation which would function to render a party incapable of giving their informed consent to an agreement - from intoxication to mental retardation - can be a possible basis to nullify an agreement.
At which point the court will argue that she can work twitter and have the mental capacity to attempt to sue others, which doesn't denote mental retardation, even if it still makes her a moron.
I don't see the problem here. If Activision has a signed document, then that's the end of it. Unless Love's attorneys intend to prove that she was high at the time of signing, which doesn't sound like it would be good for her.
---You are likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Seems to me that Courtney Love is trying to extort more money from Activision. Apparently she signed a contract granting Activision to right to use Cobain anyway they saw fit in the game, so she has no case.
Geaux Saints, Geaux Tigers, Geaux Hornets, Jack Thompson can geaux chase a chupacabra.
What a shocker she turned out to be a greedy bitch.
I frankly don't think she's that intelligent. It was probably a legalese issue where she thought it was only for Nirvana songs but Acti gets it on all of them.
If merely having a person's signature on an agreement was summarily and entirely dispositive of a dispute between the parties, then the expenditure of countless hours of court time and resources spent resolving contractual disputes could and would have been avoided. And there'd be no need for the entirely confusing and difficult to navigate "parole evidence rule."
Activision is fulllo f sh*t... i never intended to APPROVE this sh*t, they are doing a recall you can be sure of that… wait til you see what my lovely lawyer has cooked up, i never ever signed off on this.
Wow, a little too much public anger there.
The whole 'wait till you see what my lovely little lawyer has cooked up' part sounds more like a scheming bitch trying to gold-dig than, you know, a real argument.
I still say Love killed Kobain. Also, isn't Johnny Cash in guitar hero 5?
Im confused the title makes this sound kind of important shouldn't it instead read Crack Head whines about Kurt Avatar.
lol. My favorite part is the "I never intended to APPROVE of this".This doesn't make any sense and is contradictory in and of itself.
It's like giving someone your car keys and then saying "I didn't intend for them to actually DRIVE the car." Or,
"I gave her an engagement ring, but I don't want to get married."
Dumb people are dumb. And greedy.
The End.
It doesn't specify if "this" refers to ALL SONGS or THE LIKENESS, PERIOD.
Most seem to think she's implying she didn't approve the likeness at all. I think she just thought it was only gonna be Nirvana songs.
Just came across this.
http://idolator.com/5272132/dave-grohl-krist-novoselic-and-activision-re...
OK I can agree with their point of view here. If they wanted to make him a playable character they should of kept him with his Nirvana songs and not put him to sing others. But Courtney's BS is beyond stupid. Besides I find it funny that she is still trying to milk her late-husband's legacy no matter how small it was.
I'm no laywer, but does Activision even need permission to use Cobain's likeness for an avatar? To my understanding, the likenesses of public figures such as entertainers and politicians are public domain. How do you copyright a face?
No need to copyright. A person's likeness is recognized at common law as being their property, and theirs alone, to exploit as they choose. It's not in the public domain. Certainly not during their lifetime. And probably not for a long, long time after their death.
Huh, after Googling it, I guess you can copyright your likeness. Seems silly to me, but whatever.
I'm pretty sure the law is set up so that reasonably well-known public figures DO NOT have a right to their likeness. I doubt the writers of political cartoons are out seeking the permission of presidents and congressmen all the time.
I'm pretty sure that you're as wrong as wrong can be. Political cartoons are usually satire and/or parody, both of which fall under the "fair use" exemption.
And think about what you're saying for a second. If Kurt Cobain, as a well-know public figure, had no rights in his own likeness as you suggest, then why would Activision have sought a license agreement in the first place? They'd have simply gone ahead and used his likeness without seeking anyone's permission because, technically, there'd be no need to seek permission.
You know, I wasn't planning on getting GH5, due to shitty song selection, among other things.. But now, I might see if I can scrounge the money together just because I think Courtney Love is a greedy whore. Fuck them, they have plenty of money. (Not that Activision DOESN'T, but they aren't the ones threatening to sue.)
So she went along with the process of them building up the character model and shit but didn't "intend to approve it". Why?
There's a difference between saying "I intend to approve the use of Kurt's likeness performing his own material" and "I intend to approve the use of Kurt's likeness performing the material of others." The two are not the same. And it's very possible that she would have been unaware of the fact of the latter until after the game was unveiled.
Exactly this.
Honestly, I disagree. I see absolutely no difference in the importance of whether he plays in his songs or any song. If I was a famous person, I'd be honored just to have my likeness in a game, and it'd be pretty stupid to make it so I was only used during my songs. It's not like Activision is making it so you can't use him during his songs, he's just allowing players to use him during any song. Why Courtney is bitching about this is beyond me.
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
So instead of simply going "Hey ,they remembered him ,sweet" they're going "Bawwww, he's signin songs we didn;'t make" except for Courtney there who is looking to cash in on it.
I['m just happy Cobain is well remembered. And hey, in Guitar Hero 3 Slash and Tom Morello were i nthe game and were able ot play songs they never helped with, Bret Michaels was even in it and I doubt he'd have thrown a shitfit if he was an unlockable vocalist. I mean, if it has a character maker I won't doubt that people would just make him anyway.
I saw a screenshot showing cobain in GH5 and my immediate reaction was one of anger that they would pimp the likness of a deadman out to sell video games.
I'm not going to ding Courtney Love for using her husband's songs and memory for monetary gain. She was a passable artist before cobain and can easily make her way in life without him. I certianly think that if Kurt can help to provide for his child in some way and maybe aid other people through grants or LLC's then go for it but for some reason it still irks me.
If she honestly thought that activision was going to limit kurt to his own material and signed the stuff in good faith with that proviso then she's got every right to sue the pants off of them.
I don't really have any desire to play as Kurt, ever, it's still too creepy.
Does Johnny Cash's inclusion bother you as well?
Andrew Eisen
Only when he's performing upbeat happy songs. It's extremely uncharacteristic of him.
Then don't play as him?
Seriously, the way somw word it seems as if once he's unlocked all other characters become locked. It you don't want to play as him, don't effin play as him.
@killj0y:
And I think that's Love's point and what a lot of people here just aren't understanding. She signed up for "X" and ended up getting "Y." If that's true, then she's every right to be pissed. And every right to sue.
She simply might not have read the fine print. I side with Activision here if it went like this:
"So, Kurt's image is going to be used in his songs, then?"
"Yep, the two songs that are his in GH5."
"Hmm...alright. I'll sign it."
ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT PEOPLE.
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
And you seriously believe that Courtney Love sat her own ass down at the conference table completely alone and didn't use a team of $1000-an-hour attorneys to negotiate the license agreement on her behalf?
So I guess you're not going to play Rock Band Beatles then?
Not if the avatars are playing non Beatles music, which we all really know that is the true issue here.
But that's not even an issue! (Note Tom Morello/Slash argument several comments above)
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
And we all know that musicians never, EVER perform songs that weren't first performed by them, right? Kurt was making his own music from the first moment he picked up an instrument, right?
Nope, all those covers are just figments of our imaginations.
Too bad Kurt didn't bother to stick around for that daughter...he would've been able to provide plenty for her had he not chosen the easy way out and ABANDONED her while she was a toddler by taking the easy way out instead of manning up and being a father.
I honestly don't get the hero worship of this guy. He was a d-bag who ran away from a daughter who needed his love. Eff him.
"You know what I wish? I wish all the scum of the Earth had one throat and I had my hands about it."
Kurt would probably be pissed off at both sides over this to be honest, commericialism and greed were what pushed him into depression in the first place, and it didn't really matter what side of the divide it was on.
This isn't taking sides, but just sharing some info.
Courtney Love controls Kurt's estate. On behalf of her and her daughter. She has been very tough in allowing his image, name, etc. to be used in anything. Even though her personal life has been a train wreck, she has been praised many times for her handling of the estate.
Something sounds fishy here. There might have been either a misunderstanding, or someone screwed up. Activision might have believed they could take advantage of her. Or she might have screwed up. We'll find out when it goes to court.
Yes, I am a liberal. I also believe in a strong military, less government, and the right to bear arms. ~ Me Calling an illegal alien an undocumented worker is like calling a crack dealer an unlicensed pharmacist. ~ Me
Which is why I find the knee-jerk reactionaries who leap to accusations of "greedy bitch" typical of the knee-jerk reactions which are often made here. Putting aside the fact that if Courtney Love sat on her ass for the rest of her life and didn't lift a finger, she'd probably be well-taken care of by the money which continues to roll into the Cobain estate and is therefore probably not too hard up for money and therefore doesn't have much need to extort a dollar outta Activision, no one pauses for a minute to consider the possibility that she's more interested in protecting her husband's image and memory than she is in making a buck.
Who cares. She sucks, Kurt Cabain sucks, Nirvana sucks. Guitar Hero 5 sucks.
--------------------------------------------------
I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
Curmudgeon.
...I put that word into Wikipedia, and after reading the description I noticed " For the Nirvana song, see With the Lights Out." And there's a song called Curmudgeon. Freaky.
-If an apple a day keeps the doctor away....what happens when a doctor eats an apple?-
There's no such thing as "coincidence." God, in His infinite wisdon, created everything to serve a purpose. Some things share God's purpose in common, that's all.
"God, in His infinite wisdon, created everything to serve a purpose."
With the exception of Courtney Love. That day he let the work experience kid take a crack at things.
--------------------------------------------------
I LIKE the fence. I get 2 groups to laugh at then.
LOL!
I'm just surprised she's still alive...
Nirvana members and Courtney (3-4 people): "Heeeeey.. Like, yeah, no, don't.. don't uh.. don't use Kurt's image in a video-game... Even if you secured the rights... Not nice."
Nirvana fans (Millions) : "Hey! Let us incarnate our beloved and mourned real Guitar Hero! Thank you Activision for the tribute! Courtney? You're still alive? Who cares..."
Another match of Artists vs Those ensuring the Artists continuity. FIGHT!!
Guys, if Activision got the necessary mechanical licenses to use the songs, and then got the permission from the estate to use the likeness and image of Cobain, then Activision is in the clear. No amount of attorney b.s. (no offense to attorneys) can change the fact that (it looks like) Activision is solid on this one.
"HEY! LISTEN!"
Wait, let me get this straight.
Courtney Love killed Kurt, and she's saying profiting off his likeness is immoral.
Jesus, what a hypocrite.