Slashdot Mirror
Wrestler Maxx Payne Sues Game Publisher
Ryan Barrett writes "The Associated Press reports that retired WCW wrestler, actor, and voice actor Maxx Payne is suing a group of game developers and publishers over the game Max Payne. In Payne's words, "I left wrestling to come home to Utah and be with my family and I find myself in the biggest battle of my life - to save my identity." This raises an interesting question: in most cases like this, we Slashdotters are quick to speak out in Payne's defense. But when the big bad corporations are game developers, do we still take the little guy's side?" Is this suit exposing a genuine rip-off, or is it just a naming coincidence?
If the game has done so much to steal his identity, then why has he waited two years since the game was released to sue?
Hate to say it but my instinct says he probably saw the marketing push for the sequel and thought "Hey they're putting a lot of money into this... I should get my hands on some of it"
I will crush you peetiful geeks with my fearsome lawsuit. How DAAAREE you steal my name for your pathetic excuse of a game. I will take back what is mine and spread your crushed and dessicated remains before me.
OOOOHHH YEE-AHH!
(wrong wrestler, but it's what came to mind...)
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
As for the wrestler Mr. Payne, he might have had a case if he hadn't waited so damned long. I find it amazing that he didn't at least hear from someone something along the lines of, "Hey, I saw a videogame that had your old stage name on it! Cool, huh?"
Even if he managed to not hear about it until now, you have to actively defend trademarks if you want to keep them. This means doing a modicum of research on your trademark - Googling it every month or so might not be a bad idea. He definatly would have had a case if he'd gone to the publishers before the game went gold, he might have had a (somewhat shaky) case if he sued right after the game hit shelves, but he doesn't have much of one now.
Finally, I don't see how he is in a "battle to save [his] identity." Most people can discriminate between a pro wrestler and a game character; the hypothetical "reasonable person" appealed to so often in court cases like this one certainly could. Sorry, Mr. Payne, you ain't getting squat.
Note: I'm not a lawyer, this isn't legal advice, contact a lawyer in your jurisdiction, you know the deal.
That's it. I'm no longer part of Team Sanity.
Stolen Identity? When was the last time a videogame created a fake driver's license or some credit cards?
This is no different than if some prostitute in a Duke Nukem game was named "Lolly Pop", and an ex-employee of the Bunny Ranch sued to make some extra cash. Max Payne is fairly high up on the list of obvious names for an action star.
I'm sure Spike Lee would side with him. After all, when Viacom decided to rename TNN to "SpikeTV", I know the first thing I thought was "Wow! Spike Lee is getting a TV channel named after him! Cool!!! The first network entirely for black filmmakers!" Oh wait, no I didn't. God, this is getting lame.
Beware, Nugget is watching... See?
There's a book I saw last time I was in a bookstore called "We Need To Talk About Kevin". Obviously, the author is stealing my name. I'm going to sue the author, the publisher, the bookstore, and maybe McDonald's too, just out of general principle.
Lawsuits, they're the American way.
Quidquid latine dictum sit, altum sonatur.
"I got it off a hair dryer" - Homer Simpson
Waiting for ad.doubleclick.net...
Here in Japan, there's an ex-wrestler named the Great Sasuke who won a position in the Iwate Prefectural Assembly under his stage persona. There was a minor scandal because he wore his mask to the legislative sessions and the ruling party didn't like that. The bill to forbid wearing masks failed, though, so he still goes to work every day in a business suit and a full-face mask.
Sono koro, bokura wa, sore ga sekai no shinjitsu da to shinjite ita.
DecafJedi
DecafJedi
my weblog: apropos of something
The difference is that movies and TV shows accurately represent real life. For example, the only people who get killed in wartime are people who show pictures of their sweethearts back home, detectives always need to visit strip clubs during every investigation, and in every set of identical twins, one is always evil. This is why it's necessary to specifically say that the stories are fictional.
--Dan