Jack Thompson Decides He's In GTA IV

gzerphey writes "Outspoken anti-games lawyer Jack Thompson has decided that a representation of a 2nd amendment lawyer in GTA IV is a mocking version of him. He has declared that if the representation is not removed he will attempt to block the release of the game. Excerpt from GamePolitics: 'The showcasing play of the game to Game Informer revealed that the first killing mission of the hero of the game, Niko, is to kill a certain lawyer. When Niko comes into this lawyer's office, having used subterfuge to do so, Niko pulls a gun on the lawyer who says, that the firm supports the second amendment and that 'Guns don't kill people. Video games do.'"

Comments

I thought parody was OK?

[Winckle]

Lots of games parody high profile people, with little repercussions.

Re:I thought parody was OK?

[A nonymous Coward]

In honour of Jack Thompson, could we please name one of those new elementary particles "morons" ?

There's a new quark color "maroon", is that good enough?

Or maybe the next level of subparticles will be named after foods, and he can have "macaroon".

Re:I thought parody was OK?

[ArcadeNut]

This was already decided by the Supreme Court:

Larry Flynt won an important Supreme Court decision on February 24, 1988,[6] after having been sued by Jerry Falwell in 1983 over an offensive ad parody in Hustler that featured Falwell. The ad suggested that Falwell's first sexual encounter was with his mother in an out-house. Falwell sued Flynt citing emotional distress caused by the ad but lost in court. The decision clarified that public figures cannot recover damages for "intentional infliction of emotional distress" based on parodies.

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Flynt

A parody is a parody....

Re:I thought parody was OK?

[Lane.exe]

Actually, the holding of Falwell was that for a public figure to recover for IIED without showing that (1) the statements were false and (2) made with knowledge of that falsity or a reckless disregard for the truth.

Previous Settlement

[oahazmatt]

If I recall correctly, wasn't there an "agreement" made between the makers of GTA and Thompson, the primary factor being that Thompson agreed to no longer speak out against the games or try to block their sales directly or indirectly?

Or, is Thompson on the payroll now and just bringing more publicity to the title? Hmmm?

So, I watched the video, and...

[FiloEleven]

...I want my time back.

Re:No legs

[tepples]

And to Mr. Jack Thompson: You, sir, are an idiot. Are you attempting to claim that you are copyrighted, or a piece of IP? Exclusive personality rights under California law last for life plus 70 years, just like copyrights in works created by one or more individuals on or after January 1978.

Re:Pity?

[UnknownSoldier]

One minor problem: Ghandi was a lawyer.

--
Q: Why don't sharks attack lawyers?
A: Professional Courtesy.

Re:Didn't he dare them to?

[Jaegar]

A few months ago, didn't JT dare R* to make a game depicting him being "taken out"? or something like that, my memory is fuzzy... Actually, the challenge was contained in an open letter. His "Modest Proposal" outlined the plot for a game. If it was made, Thompson would donate $10,000 to the charity of the CEO of Take Two's choosing. It was eventually made, but of course Thompson didn't pony up. Gabe and Tycho from Penny Arcade ended up donating the $10,000.

Of course that compelled Wacky Jacky to send a fax to the local police department asking for assistance in halting the nefarious activities of the two web comics.

The whole story here

Re:Pity?

[PitaBred]

For some people, laziness is natural. For others, it's an art form.