Jury To Hear No Doubt's Video Game Row

Gwen Stefani's band No Doubt have won the latest stage in their battle against video games publisher Activision and their portrayal in Band Hero.

They have been given the right to go before a jury to say they believe they were misled by the video gaming giant about how their likenesses would be used.

No Doubt sued the California-based video games company in November 2009.

They claimed the band were never told that players would be able to unlock avatars of themselves to perform other artists' music.

They cited instances in Band Hero in which players could use Stefani to perform suggestive lyrics from the Rolling Stones' hit Honky Tonk Women.

Players could also watch a virtual version of bassist Tony Kanal sing his band's hit Just A Girl, but with Stefani's voice.

The lawsuit claimed the feature turned the band "into a virtual karaoke circus act".

Activision claimed the idea of "unlocking" unadvertised features of a video game had been around since the early days of the industry - and the company had done nothing wrong.

Activision had asked the judge to dismiss several claims from the case, including fraud, violation of publicity rights and breach of contract.

But the judge said it could go ahead, and lawyers now expect the case will go to trial later this year.

Jeffery McFarland, who represents Activision, said the company had a strong defence and was looking forward to presenting it during trial.

During the hearing, he said the company had a video recording of the band being told about the game's unlockable features.

The band's lawyer Bert Deixler said the ruling "seemed inevitable" - and pointed out that No Doubt had repeatedly won the right to pursue their case.