The arms company that makes the Humvee vehicle denounced the company for violation of its intellectual property.
The Call of Duty saga and Activision have faced a complaint from AM General, a company specialized in the manufacture of military vehicles. The manufacturer decided to take the North American firm to court because it considered that its intellectual property had been violated by including its Humvee vehicle in the videogames of the saga. However, the case has come to an end because the judge has dismissed the lawsuit under the pretext that video games are art, therefore protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Courts handling intellectual property cases often relax their measures when it comes to artistic works, as Justice George B. Daniels comments in his verdict. They use a kind of test by which they determine whether or not works of this type can use intellectual properties without a license. The scale considers artistic relevance, among other additional factors, such as the confusion it can cause in consumers.
Real Humvee vehicle
The magistrate's arguments
For this judge, Call of Duty fulfills this factor of artistic relevance, since it “evokes realism” in a video game that reflects modern warfare. "Humvees purchases — made by 50 armies around the world, including the United States Armed Forces — do not buy Call of Duty and vice versa," the verdict states. "There is no risk of someone acquiring the wrong product by accident." Daniels acknowledges that there could be some confusion, but maintains that AM General has not been able to demonstrate it. "Using Humvees in Call of Duty video games improves the realism of the titles."
If that realism is an "artistic objective", he says, "the presence in modern warfare" of vehicles "undoubtedly contribute to achieving that goal," underlines the verdict. "The inclusion of Humves in the front and back of various scenes, including the times players use Humvees to advance to the next level, are integral elements of the game because it communicates ideas through distinctive features of the medium.
According to the magistrate, the introduction of the vehicles has not been shown to have adversely affected the company. AM General, for its part, defended that this situation had “irreparably damaged the company”, in addition to causing “confusion” to its clients.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is the latest franchise game, released on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Modern Warfare 2 Campaing Remastered has also been released, for now only on PS4, although it will also be released on other platforms.
