CMG Worldwide, the agent managing the use of George S. Patton’s likeness for the Patton family, is suing Maximum Games over the use of his likeness in History Legends of War: Patton, according to a Video Gamer Law report. It’s the third such case in the past year alone, following Lindsey Lohan suing Rockstar Games over alleged use of her likeness in Grand Theft Auto V, and Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian General, over alleged use of his likeness in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The primary difference between this case and those is between an “expressive” likeness and a “literal” one, with the case of Patton being the latter, according to Video Gamer Law. As History Legends of War: Patton is directly trading on the likeness and name of General Patton it could be more likely that the courts will side with Patton’s estate. In the case of Lohan and Noriega, because the likeness is more “expressively” used (and doesn’t refer to either person within the game), they might have less of a case. In the past, the court has sided against the defendants in such cases, most notably in the case of the band No Doubt, who made a successful claim against Activision for their representation in Band Hero.
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2014