Harmonix files, promptly withdraws suit against Activision

Rock Band studio sues publisher over Guitar Hero III royalties, but drops suit a day later in favor of out-of-court negotiations.

Viacom-owned Harmonix Music Systems on Monday filed a lawsuit at the California Superior Court in Los Angeles claiming that Activision owes it some $14.5 million, reports Variety. In a very quick turnaround, by Tuesday, it had withdrawn the suit and decided to discuss it all in a civilized manner outside of court instead.

The suit alleges that Activision has paid Harmonix the wrong royalty rate for Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. The first rate, which is half of the higher rate, should be paid if a Guitar Hero game is made from scratch and the higher rate if a game "incorporates, uses, or is derived from Harmonix property."

Harmonix created the original Guitar Hero game for RedOctane, which was bought out by Activision in 2006. Harmonix was acquired by Viacom's MTV Networks in 2006 and has recently released Rock Band, which features drums and vocals, as well as guitars.

In February, Activision touted the Guitar Hero franchise as having sold more than 14 million copies in North America alone, with Guitar Hero III alone accruing more than 5 million songs downloaded. Harmonix's maiden effort with the Rock Band franchise has been no slouch itself, going platinum in January and claiming 2.5 million songs downloaded.

However, Harmonix reckons it's owed some $14.5 million in extra royalties for Guitar Hero III and also points out that it hasn't seen any royalties from song downloads, in-game advertising, or any "ancillary products."

Activision's lawyer, general counsel George Rose countered by saying, "Activision believes it has made sufficient payments to Harmonix and the claims otherwise do not have merit."

60 Comments

  • Brainy142

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 4:35 pm PT

    they should STFU and fix the wii version and work on getting us more songs

  • ItsRichie

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 1:45 pm PT

    well... rock band wii will be a must buy

  • Eldridge00

    Posted Mar 14, 2008 6:28 am PT

    Good for Harmonix, i hope they put a little fear in Activisions eyes with this. This is what Activision deserves for their half assed commitment to GH3

  • NintendoWarrior

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 4:52 pm PT

    lol.....
    Activision are sellouts for releasing Guitar Hero: Aerosmith?
    lol did everyone forget rock the 80's, also GH3 has loads of free DLC and they paid for famous guitarists and guitars, which nearly balances out the ingame ads

    calm down guys, its not EA, its Activision, they published that game you all worship: COD 4

  • doobist

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 11:05 am PT

    ...still waiting for a PS3 patch so I can use GH3 guitar on RB.....

  • oblivion_blaze

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 10:53 am PT

    to Reaper1117: didnt activision help make call of duty 4?

  • Reaper1117

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 9:49 am PT

    Activision hasn't made a good game since........... (insert name of game here because I can't think of any.)

  • Choquette

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 9:42 am PT

    I think Activision s*cks bad time, cause they ruined a perfect game called ''Guitar Hero 3'' Harmonix had better ideas with Guitar hero 2, It didnt look great but man It didnt lag has hell. It didnt have bugs like when they lunched GH3. And for a game Called GH3 the game GH2 and Gh1 and the Guitar should work with it! Anyway thats my Opinion!

  • ewmgreendawg

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 8:35 am PT

    I fully support anybody trying to sue activision. They ruined skateboarding games and now their trying to steal the control system from EA's SKATE for their next tony hawk title. everybody i know who has GH3 has had their guitar break, the song downloads are limited and expensive, the in-game advertising is lame as hell.... i can go on all day.

  • NeleNel

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 5:28 am PT

    In court, out of court, it all comes down to money no matter how you look at it.

  • TehUndeadHorror

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 3:12 am PT

    Damn you EA... wait what?

  • Maximo03

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 2:58 am PT

    I hate people who say RB is better than GH. Opinions like that are not acceptable in an article that's about the companies suing each other. If you're going to post on the page with an article, then comment about the article, not your own stubborn opinions.

  • _Horde

    Posted Mar 13, 2008 1:45 am PT

    Respect to Harmonix for choosing to discuss it outside of the court.

  • Tylendal

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 11:39 pm PT

    This actually sounds justifiable for once.

  • gmagnus

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:44 pm PT

    This isn't greed; Harmonix is just saying they got short-changed, that Activision didn't pay them the agreed upon amount. They didn't just make up something crazy to sue them for. They even changed their minds about suing them THE NEXT DAY and they're gonna talk it out.

  • ibanezdropd

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:21 pm PT

    harmonix sold the guitar hero franchise.... they need to let it go

  • cckcmain

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:11 pm PT

    What a fight this whole franchise has been. Reminds me of the early days of 2D fighting games.

  • BigSmitts07

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:09 pm PT

    greedy....

  • troopershades

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:44 pm PT

    i need to become a lawyer....sweet jeebus... next on the docket... Fatass sues Major League Eating game for the wii cuz it made him more fat from eating.

  • ChuckNorris82

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 4:53 pm PT

    HAHA!!! TAKE THAT HARMONIX!!!! WOOO!!!!! "xblane" I know man what ever happend to that good o'l gaming....and "Muppetguy21" that.....would.....be.....AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • speedjunkie4

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 4:34 pm PT

    ooooo. Shocking.

  • rockstar_88

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 3:50 pm PT

    It's quite ironic that every time Guitar Hero and Rock Band are mentioned, EA and Activision's respective roles as greedy corporations get switched around. Normally when franchises are milked to no end, fingers are usually pointed at EA Games, while Activision gets treated with respect for putting out high quality games. But Guitar Hero is being milked to no end since Encore, and Rock Band has focused its franchise entirely on its one copy of its game through weekly downloadable content.

  • xblane

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 3:00 pm PT

    It use to be about the games man

  • leimeisei

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:41 pm PT

    Activision is ruining Guitar Hero. With their new plan to focus the games on one artist at a time and release them like every 3 or 4 months is a really stupid Idea. Meanwhile, Activision has released like, what.. 12 or 13 songs as addons for Guitar Hero 3. Greedy.

    On the other hand, you have Rock Band, which has AT LEAST 3 new downloadable songs per week. They're at like 70 songs or something like that now, arent they?

    Rock band FTW.

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:36 pm PT

    Not paying your debts is bad, m'kay?

  • gnbfd posted Mar 12, 2008 2:17 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    gnbfd

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:17 pm PT (hide)

    I know a way to settle this...

    BATTLE MODE!!!!

    wait, Rock Band doesn't have battle lol.

    GHIII ftw

  • Muppetguy21

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:15 pm PT

    I think a battle of the bands would solve this!

  • haesuse

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:14 pm PT

    man considering that there are multiple sequels and now a spin-off to GH and more to come, i'd throw in another 10 mil or so just for a good measure to say thanks, not stiff the guys. man, is everyone turning EA these days o.0

  • yinyang3

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 2:06 pm PT

    When is Konami going to sue?

  • CaptCheeseGuy

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 1:56 pm PT

    C'mon Activision - Harmonix developed a fantastic franchise for you guys.
    The least you can do is pay them what's due.

  • puablo

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 1:52 pm PT

    Out of court settlement: patches to support each others' guitars.

    We could only hope.

  • vf21x

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 1:08 pm PT

    Somebody is being greedy somewhere.........

  • Killer2401

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 1:08 pm PT

    If they have yet to give Harmonix the money, then they should. If Harmonix is meritless, then they should explail why.

  • Obliterati

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 12:53 pm PT

    There's only one way to settle this. Corporate Lawyer Rock Battle TO THE DEATH!!

  • Dan2002sk8er

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 12:32 pm PT

    GH3 sucked compared to Rock Band anyway. RB is way more fun has better songs better DLC. Yes my first guitar didn't work but After EA sent me my new one it works great. But on the PS3 at least the GH3 guitar didn't work at all it would lag at different rates so I couldn't calibrate it because it would change plus the Fret mapping was atrocious. After GH1 and 2 and Rock Band I can't see why anyone would want GH3 I traded my copy in for Devil May Cry 4 and couldn't be Happier.

  • donnyslingblade

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 12:10 pm PT

    We should sue Harmonix, EA and who ever else is involved with making those crappy instruments that we have to keep sending back. I have never had a problem with the drums, but I am on my fourth guitar now and this one I have to send back after one day. The customer service is great for sending stuff back, but now it's tireing and pointless to get a guitar that is going to do the same thing. On top of that!!! I can't use another guitar that I have due to two companies that. Not only are jerks to eachother, but in turn are ultametly jerks to the gamers in the end. I love both games, both companies, but I am tired of all the BS. Can't get a patch, having to send crap back all the time. As much fun as the games are. I am about to the point that if anything new comes out from both I won't buy at all.

  • ghost867

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 11:46 am PT

    Um.... okay? Can I just get my cross game instrument patch now?

  • Jragon7

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 11:36 am PT

    stupid

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 11:34 am PT

    money money money, wow, who would have thought

  • WhiteSnake5000

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:31 am PT

    Did it really take you 5 minutes to read just that?

  • vogelhut posted Mar 12, 2008 10:28 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    vogelhut

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:28 am PT (hide)

    Thank you for wasting 5 minutes of my life.

  • klugenbeel

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:18 am PT

    So is Viacoms lawyers the same people that watch MTV? It seems really really dumb that any company would file for a law suit, and then change their mind a day or 2 later. Looks like MTV wants even more money, on top of the billions they generate already. MTV sucks, luckily they didn't butcher Rock Band, great game, but man when it comes to rockin'...the boys at Activision know how to ROCK!!!!

  • decoy1978

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:16 am PT

    I find this funny considering it was Activision who told Harmonix that they need more money to release the PS3 patch to make GH3 compatible to RB. I think this situation wouldn't have degenerated if Activision just OK'd the patch to begin with and both sides would be happy.

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 10:09 am PT

    I think for looking at the stinkin ads all day i deserve some royalty ... i dished out 80$ for the game ... now give me my money for all the bleeding eye soreness i had to look at ...

  • GreenC4T

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:36 am PT

    Hopefully they do bring a patch for the PS3

  • illusivemcsorly

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 9:16 am PT

    Look forward to the day when Rock Band is released in Europe. Maybe late 2009 if we're lucky?

  • Theman3788

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 8:30 am PT

    dmish82
    Anyone smell a certain little PS3 Rock Band patch coming???

    Thats genius actually.

  • dmish82

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 7:50 am PT

    Anyone smell a certain little PS3 Rock Band patch coming???

  • Colsworl

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 6:56 am PT

    Harmonix: "We are going to file a lawsuit against you"
    Activision: Rep opens briefcase
    Harmonix: "ok lets talk"

  • bd0g5

    Posted Mar 12, 2008 6:32 am PT

    so when will the GH3 controller be compatible with rock band again?

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