US judge dismisses Manuel Noriega's 'Call of Duty' lawsuit

[webfact]

Judge dismisses ex-dictator Manuel Noriega's 'Call of Duty' lawsuit

(CNN) -- A California judge has dismissed former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega's lawsuit against the creators of the "Call of Duty" video game franchise.

"This court concludes that Noriega's right of publicity is outweighed by defendants' First Amendment right to free expression," Judge William H. Fahey of the Los Angeles Superior Court said in an order Monday.

Noriega -- who's serving a prison sentence in Panama after being convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and killing political opponents -- had argued that the 2012 video game "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" damaged his reputation.

Creators of the video game called the lawsuit "frivolous" and "absurd." They filed a motion to dismiss it, arguing that Noriega's portrayal in the game is protected by the Constitution.

Full story: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/28/tech/gaming-gadgets/manuel-noriega-call-of-duty-lawsuit/index.html


-- CNN 2014-10-29

[kleelof]

Well, let me be the first to say - What an idiot!

[SOTIRIOS]

...seems like a 'double standard'....using one's likeness for commercial gain without consent....

[kleelof]

What U.S. law says you can't do this? If this were the case, SNL would lose 1/2 of their skits.

[Chicog]

They should anyway, half of them are rubbish.

[KhnomKhnom]

Adding some facts......

1. Noriega reputation would be difficult to lower from where it is now, so he started his case well in the hole.

2. Noriega falls into the general category of a "public figure" like a movie star, politician, famous criminal (think Thaksin) or other person often in the public eye, such as in news reports. As such, that category of person loses their rights to claim defamation or other injury based on comments on his person or any kind of photographs, even 'doctored' photos. Part of the problem for the famous person is that it is very difficult to prove some kind of measurable loss under the idea that any publicity is good publicity.

If someone were claiming being defamed via, say, a doctored photo of him kissing a monkey and widely published-- his embarrassment is not measurable, especially in dollars, UNLESS that photo caused him directly and with proof to lose a job, which has a measurable loss. Even then, the truly public figure will likely lose under 1st Amendment grounds IN USA. There is virtually no recourse in the land of the free.

DO NOT think these ideas apply to Thailand. It is different here, so keep your trap shut.