Guitar Hero Maker Sued - Cover Song Too Awesome

volpone writes "The band "The Romantics" are suing Activision over their wedding reception favorite, 'What I Like About You,' which appears in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s. The problem is not copyright infringement; Activision had permission to make a cover version of the song. No, the problem is that the cover sounds too much like the original. 'The band's attorneys have indicated that they are seeking an injunction that would force the game to be withdrawn from sale. Although around half of the songs in the newly released Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock feature recordings by the original artists, in previous Guitar Hero games the majority of songs were cover versions.'" In not totally-unrelated news you can download the Mjolnir mix of the Halo theme for play on GHIII, free, today.

Of course they did...

[hsdpa]

By taking the Fourier-transform of the song, and then the Inverse Fourier-Transform, you're making a cover. A remix by most - but not a plagiate.

Wow, just wow.

[base3]

A washed-up 80's band with two hits to its name sues because a cover band was able to duplicate their syrupy bubble-gum pop sound. The mind boggles.

Re:Of course they did...

[cacepi]

By taking the Fourier-transform of the song, and then the Inverse Fourier-Transform, you're making a cover. A remix by most - but not a plagiate.

Dude, this is Guitar Hero; speak English for Christ's sake!

Re:Of course they did...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Dude, this is Guitar Hero; speak English for Christ's sake!"

"Slashdot, New for nerds and stuff that matters".

Okay, so you failed at math and you are visiting the wrong site. Double-whammy.

Songs by "The Original Artists"

[Derling Whirvish]

BTW, when I was a kid and compilations of hits by cover groups was common (sorta like "Kidz Bop" now is) rarely would compilations of the original songs be offered on TV due to the high costs of getting the licenses. But I remember one TV offer in particular that was a group of recent hits and the name of the cover group was "The Original Artists." The come-on was something like: "20 of 19xx's greatest hits all by 'The Original Artists." I still LOL over the marketing slimeball that came up with that one.

Re:If true, poor move by the band

[Lord_of_the_nerf]

A withdrawal might ensure that the next edition has some new loading screens:

"Any percieved similarity to the original song is unintended. Rock out!"
"If you complete this song on Expert, it may be considered a threat to the original band's income!"
"Dear The Romantics, remember when it used to be about the music?"
"If your only fans are the RIAA, then go back to the nursing home."

Slashdotters unite!

[starglider29a]

Let's all boycott buying Romantics albums!!!

That'll show 'em!

If only Activision had used...

[DreadfulGrape]

more cowbell!

Re:Last time I checked...

[Scamwise]

This common phrase has been changed to "Imitation is the highest form of infringement" or at least it was until it was sued by the owners of the original flattery statement due to copyright infringement.

It went Wii, Wii, Wii

[Eccles]

The band's attorneys have indicated that they are seeking an injunction that would force the game to be withdrawn from sale.

I've been trying to buy the Wii version for the kids; as far as I can tell, they've succeeded.

In Other News, Milli Vanilli Sues Rock Band Game

[Skeetskeetskeet]

Saying that the in-game character lip syncs "Girl You Know Its True" better than they did.

Re:RAY DAVIES

[mfnickster]

The bloody Kinks oughta sue the Romantics, in such a world! "What I Like About You" is pretty much an early Kinks pastiche.

The Kinks oughta sue themselves for plagiarism. "Paranoia" is essentially the same song as "All Day and All of the Night." :)

Re:Wow, just wow.

[Wildcat J]

I heard a funny story about them, which may or may not be true:

The Romantics played here in Tucson a few years back for a local festival-type show (either "Nightmare on Congress" or "Fall Crawl"--mostly local bands, including one I played in at the time), and a fairly well-known local band let them rehearse in their practice space. Someone walking through the hallway heard them and commented that it sounded like a really crappy Romantics cover band. If only they knew!

Re:Wow, just wow.

[TheRaven64]

So, if they sound like a crappy cover of themselves, and the track in question sounds like a good cover of them, then by definition it doesn't sound like them...

Re:3-chord covers

[sacrilicious]

Third, at the outset of negotiations, Midler's lawyer asked, "Is it a commercial?" was told yes, and responded, "We are not interested." Clearly Midler did not want her vocals to be considered an endorsement of an advertised product. Perhaps she was opposed to Ford's labor practices or simply preferred BMWs. The point is that a listener might reasonably infer that Midler was endorsing the prodcut through her vocals, and might form an untrue opinion of her character. The Romantics' (apparent) performance in GH does not imply any endorsement of a specific commercial product, and therefore it's possible a court will decide that it is not a misappropriation of their identity, regardless of the degree of verisimilitude.

Agreed. To me, this third point is the most damning to whatever case the Romantics might have.

I find myself wondering: what damages do the Romantics suppose they have endured? Given that they were prepared to have their song covered in the game, the only motivation for suing that I can think of is that the Romantics don't like the idea the world might think that the actual Romantics participated in the making of the game... because (and I'm grabbing at straws here) that might mean the Romantics are washed up? But if game players assume they're hearing the Romantics, I don't think game players would notice or care, at least not to the Romantics' detriment. The songs making it onto the game are arguably the greats/classics... GH isn't looking to include crap, for obvious reasons. And there's no reason to suppose that the Romantics played the song again instead of simply giving access to the originally recorded tracks anyhow.

I just don't get where the Romantics are coming from on this. It's what I dislike about them. Won't keep me home at night though.

Re:Of course they did...

[WeeLad]

The same way you get to Carnegie Hall. Practice.

screw you article summary!

[Anonymous Coward]

I can download whatever I want for free any time I want!