Romantics sue 'Guitar Hero' publisher Activision
November 22, 2007

The video game Guitar Hero has made a name for itself by allowing users to play along to their favorite songs, found in a voluminous gallery of music. However, through all the spin-off Guitar Hero games, that library has been stretched thin, and now the Romantics are claiming that one of the tracks featured on Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s is just a little too close to their hit, "What I Like About You".

The Romantics, who hail from Detroit, have sued Activision, the company that publishes the Guitar Hero series, claiming that one of the roughly 30 tracks on Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s infringes on the group's rights due to the fact the sound-alike song sounds a little too similar to their popular track. The Romantics have sought an unspecified amount of damages in their lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Tuesday. The Romantics are also seeking an injunction against the game, which means that holiday shoppers may not be able to purchase one of the most popular video game titles of the year.

One of the odd things about the Romantics lawsuit against Activision is that the band doesn't have a copyright issue with the Guitar Hero game. Attorneys for the band confirmed that Activision did properly secure the rights to use "What I Like About You" for the game, and allowed the game makers to record a cover version of the tune. The problem for the Romantics comes from the fact that such an imitation of their music infringes on the Romantics' right to use its own likeness and image. Since Guitar Hero debuted in 2005, Activision has used both original band recordings and cover versions for their several games.

Also named in the Romantics lawsuit was the San Francisco music firm Wavegroup Sound, the company that recorded the sound-alike track for the Guitar Hero game. The Associated Press quoted William Horton, an attorney for the band, which said that "It's a very good imitation, and that's our objection," nothing that, "Even the guys in the band said, 'Wow, that's not us, but it sure sounds like us." Horton believes that Activision should not only have secured a master license for the original 1980 recording of What I Like About You, but should also have paid out appropriate royalties.

This isn't the first sound-alike lawsuit to be launched on a similar basis. Artists such as Tom Waits and Bette Midler have filed suit, successfully, for similar recordings used in television commercials. Those cases saw attorneys argue that the imitation songs infringed on the artist's right to publicity by allowing consumers to think the artist is connected with the advertised product. However, USA Today quoted A University of Michigan law professor, Jessica Litman, who noted that, "putting something in a game is quite different from putting it in a commercial."