Judge denies Guitar Hero injunction

A federal judge has denied a request by the rock band The Romantics to prevent Activision from using their song in Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s.

As reported earlier, the band filed suit almost a month ago, alleging that the Guitar Hero recording of the song improperly imitates their sound, causing consumers to believe that The Romantics recorded the music and endorsed the product.

The Romantics named Activision, RedOctane, and Harmonix Music Systems as defendants in the lawsuit and were seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction to prevent further distribution of the game.

The judge who made the recent ruling indicated that, to the extent there were any copyright issues, Activision did exactly what the company was supposed to do in developing the product.

There was no immediate word as to whether or not The Romantics planned to appeal the ruling.

"Respect for all artists is an important value of the company and Activision has a long history of supporting artists from a range of entertainment fields," the company said in a statement.

"The company believes videogames represent a growing opportunity for the music industry to reach new audiences and a strong source of potential license revenue for both bands and music publishers."