Hollywood Docket: Tom Cruise vs. ex-Scientologist; Eddie Vedder cleared on copyright; 'Call of Duty' countersuit

• On behalf of client Tom Cruise, Bert Fields has sent a letter to a former high-ranking Scientologist with a forthcoming tell-all book. Fields says that some of the book's claims, including Cruise's drug use and how Scientology interfered with his relationship with Nicole Kidman, are "demonstrably false and defamatory." [Gawker]

• A federal judge has cleared Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder of copyright infringement for making changes to lyrics of a song used in the movie "Into the Wild." The plaintiff agreed to let Vedder record the song but wasn't happy when he heard the finished version and certain words were changed. [RTT News]

• A judge has declined Veoh's request for some $3 million in attorneys fees from Universal Music Group after Veoh successfully defended a copyright infringement lawsuit. In February, Veoh went belly-up, and some pointed a finger at the expenses needed to defend the company against UMG. But a court concludes that while UMG "played hardball," the lawsuit was not in bad faith. [Tech & Marketing Law Blog]

• Activision Blizzard has filed a countersuit against the two former executives who were responsible for  the game publisher's multibillion-dollar videogame franchise "Call of Duty." Activision claims that Jason West and Vincent Zampella, who have since set up their own rival studio, were "self-serving schemers who attempted to hijack Activision's assets for their own personal gain." [Here's the complaint.] 

• A British law firm is getting out of the file-sharing settlement business, citing a fear that the bad publicity could hurt the firm's other practice areas. [TorrentFreak]