Aug 28, 2014, 19:00 pm
We've come to know Lindsay Lohan quite a bit here at Techdirt, chiefly around the way she appears to see the American legal system as her own publicity engine. After making a name for herself for filing claims against all kinds of companies she somehow thinks are using her image in the most subtle way possible, she recently decided to file a publicity rights claim against Take Two Interactive, makers of Grand Theft Auto 5. See, Lindsay saw the GTA character Lacey Jonas drive drunk and screw in public in the fifth installment of the series and decided that was totally her.
Take Two Interactive, thankfully, isn't taking the lawsuit lying down. They don't just want the case dismissed; they want Lohan sanctioned by the court as well.
You might wonder how a filing like this, one which might result in payment going the opposite direction, could get past Lohan's legal team. As we've noted before, she isn't the best judge of who to hire as a lawyer, it seems.
Originally Published: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 21:58:06 GMT
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Take Two Interactive, thankfully, isn't taking the lawsuit lying down. They don't just want the case dismissed; they want Lohan sanctioned by the court as well.
Quote:"Lindsay Lohan complains that her image and persona have been wrongfully used by Take-Two in the video game Grand Theft Auto V, but her claim is so legally meritless that it lacks any good-faith basis and can only have been filed for publicity purposes," states the defendant's memorandum to support dismissal.The idea of placing a monetary sanction on an individual abusing the legal system is tantalizing enough on its own; to have this done to the insipid Lindsay Lohan, attacker of free speech, parody and video games, super-charges the attractiveness of the possibility. It's high-time that the publicity rights trend gets taken down a few notches, if not completely abolished. Any step in that direction would be welcome.
You might wonder how a filing like this, one which might result in payment going the opposite direction, could get past Lohan's legal team. As we've noted before, she isn't the best judge of who to hire as a lawyer, it seems.
Quote:In taking on Take-Two, Lohan has dispensed with the lawyers who were caught plagiarizing in the Pitbull case in favor of new legal representation that spelled her first name "Lindsey" in one part of the complaint.Take Two Interactive is essentially arguing that the claims by Lohan are without merit, something she and her team should have been aware of considering the results of the action against Pitbull, which found that creative works, even if for sale, are protected in the event of parody. I had already figured the company would win this for that reason, but if we can start sanctioning celebrities making spurious claims, all the better.
Originally Published: Thu, 28 Aug 2014 21:58:06 GMT
source