Axl Rose Demands $20 Million|in Fight Over ‘Guitar Hero III’

LOS ANGELES (CN) - Axl Rose demands $20 million from the maker of Guitar Hero, claiming it defrauded him and breached contract by promising it would not use the image of his former bandmate "Slash" in a new version of Rose's song, "Welcome to the Jungle," then went ahead and did it anyway. Guitar Hero has made more than $1 billion for defendant Activision, according to the Superior Court complaint.

Rose sued Activision Blizzard and Activision Publishing in Superior Court, alleging fraud by concealment and by intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and promissory estoppel.

Saul Hudson aka Slash, the lead guitarist, left Guns N' Roses in 1996.

Rose claims that "a distorted public perception between the images and careers of Slash and Guns N' Roses" causes him to be careful to distinguish between the two: "Despite the fact that Slash has had nothing to do with Guns N' Roses' ongoing popularity and success since 1996, his association with the band lingers, at least as far as certain members of the media are concerned.

"Therefore, Rose is careful not to license any use of the band's name and intellectual property that would further perpetuate confusion in the public mind between Slash and Guns N' Roses or promote the individual interests of Slash and his projects, including his band Velvet Revolver ('VR'). Simply put, the association between Slash and Guns N' Roses ended almost 15 years ago; in furtherance of Guns N' Roses and to avoid confusion and dilution of the brand, Rose resists any attempts to revive or strengthen this past association.

"Activision was keenly aware of Rose's concerns in these regards. Therefore, it began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and VR prominently in GH III, but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle.'"

Rose seeks disgorgement of unjust profits, which he estimates at $20 million, and punitive damages. He is represented by Louis Miller with Miller Barondess.

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