Noriega Sues Activision For Appearance Two Call of Dutys Ago
Manuel Noriega, the former leader of the Panamanian Defense Force, has sued the creators of Call of Duty for his appearance in Black Ops 2, which released in 2012.
Courthouse News Service reports that the 13-page lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, cites "blatant misuse, unlawful exploitation and misappropriation for economic gain" as the reasons for the dispute.
The suit claims that the "defendants' use of plaintiff's image and likeness caused damage to plaintiff. Plaintiff was portrayed as an antagonist and portrayed as the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes, creating the false impression that defendants are authorized to use plaintiff's image and likeness. This caused plaintiffs to receive profits they would not have otherwise received."
Noriega is seeking damages for "unjust enrichment, unfair business practices, and violation of common-law publicity rights" according to the article, as he claims that "in an effort to increase the popularity and revenue generated by Black Ops II, defendants used, without authorization or consent, the image and likeness of plaintiff in Black Ops II."
Forgive us for being glib, but is this guy serious? First of all, if he really had a problem with it he should have presented this case when the game launched two Novembers ago. More importantly, the way the game portrays him fits right into the way he acted in the '80s when on the CIA's payroll, so we don't see a problem here.
We'll update with more as we hear it, though we don't expect to report much more than "this case was thrown out."