Activision sued for copyright infringement over Call of Duty character

Writer and photographer Clayton Haugen is suing Activision over the alleged use of a Call of Duty character.

Haugen claims Activision used the photographer’s Cade Janus character from 2017 for the making of the Mara character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

The lawsuit filed in Texas alleges that the developers of Modern Warfare used without permission the images along with the same model and makeup artist that Haugen requested for the photos of Cade Janus. Cade Janus is the main protagonist of his story November Renaissance, which has been shown to film studios.

Actress and cosplayer Alex Zedra portrays Cade Janus in the photos.

“The lawsuit further alleges that those professionals were forced to sign non-disclosure agreements in an attempt to cover up.”

“There should be no question that this was a planned, deliberate effort to duplicate the striking images created by Mr. Haugen,” said attorney Micah Dortch from the Potts Law Firm. “The evidence included in our filing clearly shows the similarities between the original images and the digitized character, as well as the actual use of Mr. Haugen’s images.”

The character Mara appears in the game and in marketing material for Modern Warfare.

Check out the entire PDF document here.

[Sources]: Torrent Freak: Activision Hit With Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over Call of Duty Character. Potts Law Firm (via Cision): ‘Call of Duty’ Publishers Sued Again for Copyright Infringement.