Axl Rose Receives Court Date For Lawsuit

Axl Rose had half of a lawsuit against Activision thrown out of court, but a court date has been set for the other half of the lawsuit.

A Los Angeles Court judge dismissed Rose’s claim of fraud against Activision for featuring ex-Guns N Roses guitarist Slash on the cover of their game, “Guitar Hero III”. Rose claims that he and his Black Frog Music gave permission to Activision to feature the song “Welcome to the Jungle” in the game on the provision that Slash would not be featured in the game. After the guitarist was prominently placed on the cover, a rep of Rose had sent Activision an email about the breach, but Rose did not file suit until 2010. Rose states he held off on the suit because Activision had promised several concessions – mainly a Guns N Roses-themed Guitar Hero game featuring music from the band’s 2008 album, Chinese Democracy. The judge sided with Activision in citing that the statute limitations had expired on a fraud claim.

The judge, however, did see Rose’s side in a breach of contract claim. Rose stated that Activision proceeded with the game despite Rose’s objections of Slash being featured in it. Activision retorted that the song had to have the agreement of all three partners of the song’s publishing arm – Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan – and that the claim had no merit based on that. A judge still scheduled a court date for the breach of contract hearing, which is set for February 1, 2013.