Activision charged with stealing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Character’s Likeness

Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming Corp. (MLG) have all been faced with a copyright infringement lawsuit claiming that the companies were responsible for creating a direct copy of a character for use in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. TorrentFreak, the prosecutor of the lawsuit, Clayton Haugen, alleges that the design of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Mara character was stolen from Haugens Cade Janus, a central figure in his November Renaissance story.

Image credit: Torrent Freak

In 2017, Haugen hired actress, cosplayer and Twitch streamer Alex Zedra to portray Cade Janus, and he took a series of photos of her and his story to film studios in hopes of turning November Renaissance into a movie. The photos have also been posted on Instagram and in a range of calendars.

In developing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, these companies hired Alex Zedra to create a “strong, skilled female fighter” for the game. In addition, Haugen claims that they also asked her to buy the same clothes and gear as she did at the Cade Janus photo shoot.

Image credit: Torrent Freak

The same makeup artist for Cade Janus’ shoots was also hired and tasked with not only recreating the look, but even using “the same hair extension”. Haugen also claims that the original photos were placed on “the studio wall” and “used as a framing guide before the model was scanned in 3D”.

“To cover up their planned breach of Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs and his Cade Janus character, defendants needed the talent and makeup professional to sign nondisclosure agreements,” notes the complaint. “The resulting photographs were intended to be, and were, copies of Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs.”

The resulting photos and 3D graphics were not only used to develop the character known as Mara, they were also “deployed as key assets in Modern Warfare’s marketing campaign.”“Haugen has the right to reclaim all monetary measures of the defendants’ infringement, including all of their profits attributable to their infringements, to the extent permitted by 17 USC § 504,” the complaint concludes and claims a jury trial.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

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