Legal Niches

Artist Sues Activision, Discovery Channel Over American Chopper

By gamepolitics

An artist who creates custom designs for - among other things - motorcycles has sued Activision, The Discovery Channel and two other defendants in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

In the suit filed on May 26th, artist Justin Barnes (left) alleges that he created a number of original designs for motorcycles constructed on The Discovery Channel's American Chopper series. Barnes claims that TDC in turn licensed the use of his work for a variety of merchandise, including video games, without his authorization. Barnes has copyrighted the works in question, according to his complaint.

Although Barnes accuses Activision, he does not mention a specific game. However, Activision has published two games based on the T.V. series, American Chopper in 2004 and American Chopper 2: Full Throttle in 2005; these would appear to be the games at issue in the case. From the complaint:

Defendant Activision has sold without authorization video games incorporating certain of plaintiff's copyrighted designs worldwide, nationwide and in the State of New York.

DOCUMENT DUMP: Grab a copy of the lawsuit here...

Full post as published by GamePolitics.com on June 12, 2009 (boomark / email).