Maroon 5's Adam Levine Files Lawsuit Against Activision

Adam Levine, the singer/guitarist for Maroon 5 and coach on NBC's TV series The Voice, is suing Activision for the way his likeness was used in Band Hero, the publisher's family-friendly rhythm game released back in November 2009. Levine did a mo-cap performance for the game's lone Maroon 5 song, but he wasn't happy to later learn that his avatar could be made to sing any of the game's 60+ songs.

The lawsuit alleges that the video game publisher used Levine's name and likeness in the game in ways that overstep his original agreement, The Wrap reports. He's unhappy that his avatar can be made to sing any of the game's songs, including those which "would not have been chosen by him for recordings or performances."

Levine also takes issue with the fact that the game allows players to make his avatar sing with voices other than his own, "including female voices." The lawsuit is going after Activision for "fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, violation of the common-law right of publicity and unfair business acts or practices." Levine is seeking unspecified damages.