Lawfirm Fenwick & West announced today that they won a motion to dismiss all copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property claims asserted by MKR Group, the rightsholders to George A. Romero’s Dawn of the Dead, against Capcom, maker of Dead Rising. MKR originally threatened Capcom with a lawsuit while Dead Rising was still under development, claiming that Dead Rising‘s zombies-in-a-mall premise was dangerously similar to that of Dawn of the Dead.
Capcom and MKR originally entered settlement negotiations, but after nearly a year of talks, Capcom sought outside legal help. After a second threat of suit by MKR, Capcom, along with Microsoft and Best Buy, filed a complaint for declaratory relief in the Northern District of California in February of this year. According to Law Fuel, Capcom sought a declaration that:
Dead Rising does not infringe any copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights belonging to MKR because any similarities between Dead Rising and Dawn of the Dead are based on the wholly unprotectable idea of humans battling zombies in a shopping mall, and that its distribution, marketing and promotion of Dead Rising is not likely to confuse consumers as to the source or origin of the game or to dilute any alleged distinctiveness of any trademarks held by MKR, particularly in light of [an in-game] disclaimer.
In response, MKR filed a third party complaint and counterclaim against Capcom, which asserted copyright infringement, violation of the Lanham Act, unfair competition, misappropriation, and dilution. Unfortunately for MKR, the court granted a motion to dismiss all of MKR’s claims with prejudice on Monday, October 20.
LOP: It’s good to see Capcom come away the victor in this one. Even our guest writer, with no legal training, thought MKR’s claim was a bit dubious.
[via Law Fuel]
Has anyone seen the new way to make money with youtube? They make 200 videos for you, and guarentee you at least 20,000 views for your business. Check it out: http://budurl.com/feps