informa
/
1 MIN READ
News

Activision sued by family of rebel chief depicted in Black Ops II

Activision Blizzard is being sued in French court for over $1 million over what the family of dead Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi claim is an inappropriate depiction of the man in Black Ops II.

Activision Blizzard is reportedly being sued in French court over what the family of deceased Angolan rebel leader Jonas Savimbi claim is an inappropriate depiction of the man in Treyarch's 2012 release Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

Notably, this comes less than a year and a half after Activision prevailed in a very similar lawsuit filed by former Panamanian dictaator Manuel Noriega over his depction in the very same game.

That lawsuit was deemed "frivolous" by an L.A. Superior Court judge in California, but this new lawsuit is filed by children of Savimbi living in France against the French branch of Activision Blizzard.

"France has extremely strict laws on both defamation and a person’s rights of publicity – in other words, the right to control the commercial use of their likeness," London-based lawyer Alex Tutty told The Guardian. “In cases such as this, where a well-known person is either depicted or has provided inspiration for a character, it is not surprising that someone aggrieved by it is able to formulate the basis of a legal argument."

The family of Savimbi is seeking €1 million (or ~$1.09 million USD) in damages from Activision, which Savimbi family lawyer Carole Enfert alleged depicted the deceased rebel leader as a "big halfwit" in Black Ops II (pictured.)

Latest Jobs

IO Interactive

Hybrid (Malmö, Sweden)
3.02.23
Gameplay Director (Project Fantasy)

Arizona State University

Los Angeles, CA, USA
2.27.23
Assistant Professor of XR Technologies

IO Interactive

Hybrid (Copenhagen, Denmark)
3.02.23
Animation Tech Programmer

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN, USA
3.02.23
Assistant Professor in Game Design and Development
More Jobs   

CONNECT WITH US

Explore the
Advertise with
Follow us

Game Developer Job Board

Game Developer

@gamedevdotcom

Explore the

Game Developer Job Board

Browse open positions across the game industry or recruit new talent for your studio

Browse
Advertise with

Game Developer

Engage game professionals and drive sales using an array of Game Developer media solutions to meet your objectives.

Learn More
Follow us

@gamedevdotcom

Follow us @gamedevdotcom to stay up-to-date with the latest news & insider information about events & more