Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming were recently brought to a Texas court in an alleged copyright infringement case filed by a writer and photographer Clayton Haugen. The plaintiff claims that the character he once created named "Cade Janus" was copyrighted in the same character of Mara in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" 2019 reboot.
To make things more conspicuous, the character who played for both Cade Janus and Mara is the same real-life person, Alex Zedra, a Twitch streamer and a social media personality.
The character "Cade Janus" was once created by Haugen in a film pitch in "November Renaissance" years ago. This was the time when he hired Zedra to be a model for his concept pitch. He was able to successfully launch the cyberware sci-fi short film around 2017.
Haugen Claims Similar Appearance and Photographs were Copyrighted from Cade Janus' Character
According to TorrentFreak, Haugen filed a lawsuit that the exact photos of Cade Janus were used in the brainstorming process of the creation of Mara's character. It was allegedly placed on Infinity Ward's studio wall. The complaint's full text can be found here.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff further claims that Activision, Infinity ward, and Major League Gaming intentionally used the same resources utilized during Zedra's shoot for Cade Janus. Aside from hiring the same model, the companies hired the same make up artist who was told "to do the talent's makeup exactly as she had for Haugen's Cade Janus photographs." See photos from the complaint below.
"The following images show the similarity between Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs and Defendants’ in-game character copies from Case 2:21-cv-00035"
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Things don't seem to get any better when Zedra was asked to borrow the exact same clothing and accessories fused in the creation of the character Cade Janus from Haugen himself
As Kotaku notes, the allegations were not just targeting the infringement of the look or appearance of Mara in "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" . Even the photographs used for November Renaissance and the game were very similar.
November Renaissance Creator Believes he is Entitled to Remedies from Activision, Infinity Ward, Major League Gaming
The game "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" has generated an earning of over $1 billion and $731 in revenue.Things can get pretty similar instantly when the same model, the same gear, and the same make-up are used in two different projects. However, things are being brought to court as Haugen believes that he is "entitled to recover all monetary remedies from Defendants' infringement, including all of their profits attributable to their infringements, to the full extent permitted."
Currently, the parties are still trying to raise eyebrows in court as the defendants seek to protect their revenue and as Haugen hopes for a sufficient amount of remedy. It may be safe to say that where there is money, there is a lawsuit at bay. However, the court is yet to decide on the matter.
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Written by Nikki D
