Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of Panama, is suing Activision for using his likeness in Treyarch's hit title, Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
According to the Courthouse News Service, Noriega is suing the publisher for the "blatant misuse, unlawful exploitation and misappropriation for economic gain" of his identity in the aforementioned game.
Furthermore, the plantiff's lawyers are claiming:
In an effort to increase the popularity and revenue generated by Black Ops 2, defendants used, without authorization or consent, the image and likeness of plaintiff in Black Ops 2.
Defendants' use of plaintiff's image and likeness caused damage to plaintiff. Plaintiff was portrayed as an antagonist and portrayed as the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes, creating the false impression that defendants are authorized to use plaintiff's image and likeness. This caused plaintiffs to receive profits they would not have otherwise received.
While I'm no law expert, I'd imagine there's a lot of money to be made by winning a case against Activision, especially when considering how much money Black Ops II made for the company. It'll be interesting to see how this all pans out.
