Capcom's "Resident Evil 4," and "Devil May Cry" are in hot water after a photographer alleges in a lawsuit that the decade-old assets of the games are from her works.
SAN DIEGO - JULY 22: A general view of atmosphere at the Marvel Vs. Capcom party during Comic-Con 2010 at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego on July 22, 2010 in San Diego, California.
Polygon first saw the lawsuit filed by designer Judy Juracek in Connecticut. She also alleges that Capcom broke the copyright law after stealing her copyrighted works.
In hindsight, the images of the artist were from the book named "Surfaces." It includes Juracek's photograph of up to 1,200 textures.
Also, the collection's publication dates back to 1996.
Furthermore, the book was for the visual study of professionals in the design industry, such as architects and industrial designers.
According to the photographer, if someone wanted to use her photos for commercial use, her permission is necessary. And, she claims, Capcom never reached out to her before using it for their popular games.
'Resident Evil' Assets and Photographs of Juracek
For those who are unfamiliar, "Resident Evil" is a horror survival game created by Capcom. The first installment of the game was initially released in the same year Juracek published her book, "Surfaces" -- 1996.
The popular survival game is one of the multiple games from Capcom that was part of the copyright lawsuit.
More precisely, Juracek pinpoints that even the logo of "Resident Evil" is part of the stolen assets. She compared the similarities of the shattered glass texture in the logo of the game, and the photo she took.
Polygon retrieved court documents that showed the said photograph and the logo of "Resident Evil 4." In the middle of the comparison is the compilation of the glass texture and the logo, which notes that cracks of the glass and its reflection from both assets are similar.
The photographer says that the glass she took a photo of was from Italy.
She added in the lawsuit that it is allegedly unlikely that the artists of the Japanese game company will go to the extent of originally reproducing the cracks of the glass, which she claims are in the game logo too.
Aside from that, she says that the environment and details were from her photographs as well.
Some of the evidence presented in the lawsuit are from documents retrieved from the Capcom cyberattack in November 2020.
Meanwhile, Oculus Studios announced on June 4 that the popular horror survival game will soon be available for its Oculus Quest 2 VR headset.
"Devil May Cry" Game Assets
GameRant reported that Juracek also mentioned in the lawsuit that a feathered bird asset of "Devil May Cry" is similar to a photo she took for "Surfaces" as well.
In addition, the first release of the adventure-filled game was in 2001.
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Damages Asked
Juracek's lawyer seeks around $12 million from Capcom, which includes lost profits from the 80 images that she says the company used without the required licenses.
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Written by Teejay Boris
