The creator of a character named “Cade Janus”, developed as part of a movie pitch, is suing Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming, accusing them of going backwards and stealing the character for use. into the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
As Torrentfreak report, Clayton Haugen claims that he created the character years ago and went so far as to work with streamer Alex Zedra to bring Janus to life.
Haugen’s lawsuit alleges that while trying to draw attention to her work by posting it on social media, Activision and some partners became character-conscious and actively worked to bring it into play, changing its name to “Mara ”And going so far in terms (this is directly from the submission):
A. Haugen’s Cade Janus photographs were used as guides to frame their own images and photographs
b. He hired the same talent he posed for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs
c. She asked the talent to ask Haugen for the same clothes and equipment she wore when she created the Cade Janus photos.
d. Hired the same makeup professional who prepared the talent for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs
e. He guided her to do the makeup of talent exactly as she did for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs
f. He guided her to style her talent’s hair exactly as she did for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs, even using the same hair extension, and then
g. Photographed and scanned three-dimensional talent using Cade Janus Photographs by Haugen as a guide.
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Haugen’s costume is also full of photos comparing his original photo to Activision’s Call of Duty promotional material with “Mara.”
What lifts this from a “they stole my art” claim to a copyright infringement claim for compensation is that Haugen says he registered copyright for his story in 2012-13 and his photographs in 2020 .
He seeks to “recover all monetary remedies from the defendants’ violation, including all their profits attributed to their violations,” along with recovery of legal costs and fees.