Replay to sue Sam Suede studio over misrepresentation

Veteran game designer Al Lowe is planning to sue Wisecrack Games, the studio behind the new Sam Suede Kickstarter, due to the Kickstarter listing's suggestion that Lowe is participating in the project. The Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure Kickstarter is apparently presented by the Leisure Suit Larry creator alongside Ken Wegrzyn, former executive producer for the Walt Disney Company. However, while Lowe and Wegrzyn worked on the concept for the game around seven years ago, Lowe and his company Replay Games have told VentureBeat that Lowe is not involved in the development of Sam Suede, and his name and photo have been used without permission. "I think the blatant misuse of the Leisure Suit Larry name and copyrighted material shows clear disregard for copyright law," said Paul Trowe, president of Replay Games. "To piggyback on someone else's success is not only rude but also illegal. Those who continue with this will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law. We are suing today." Wisecrack Games responded in a statement, "Wisecrack Games has not infringed or otherwise violated any rights of Replay Games. Wisecrack's references to Al Lowe's accomplishments, including his work on the Leisure Suit Larry series, are truthful, come directly from Mr. Lowe's website with his permission pursuant to a written agreement, and constitute de minimis and fair uses under applicable law." Lowe and Replay Games ran their own Kickstarter project earlier this year for a remake of the Leisure Suit Larry series. [Update: It appears Al Lowe himself is not involved in any tension between Replay Games and Wisecrack Games, as he recently noted on his company's blog: "I have no intention of suing Wisecrack, which has my permission to use my name and likeness regarding my involvement with Sam Suede... I also am not personally involved in any legal action against Wisecrack and wish them well implementing my game design without me." Lowe did not offer any clarification on Trowe's prior comments.]