But the strangest part of it is that he initially allowed the company to use the song as long as there were no Velvet Revolver songs in the game.
Why Velvet Revolver? Because it is a band co-founded by Slash, the former lead guitarist for Guns N’ Roses with whom Axl had a serious fall out years ago. In the game, Slash was even a cartoon/avatar on the game’s cover.
The lawsuit states:
‘Activision began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and [new band Velvet Revolver] 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’
‘This lawsuit is about protecting Guns N’ Roses and Welcome To The Jungle, and is about holding Activision accountable for its misuse of these incredibly valuable assets’ said Rose’s lawyer Skip Miller.
‘The relief we are seeking is disgorgement of profits and compensatory and punitive damages’.
This last statement sounds crazy and there are many amusing things in this story, first, the game was released in October 2007, so three years ago and he is suing now! Then Axl apparently hates Slash, and this lawsuit just looks like just some kind of revenge and personal vendetta.