Bank Robber's Descendent Sues EA Over Godfather

[Crimsane]

Langdell's clearly using his time not spent as a member of the board at IGDA to teach young prodigies his methods. I could understand if he was the guy's son or something, but the grandson of Dillinger's half-sister? Get real.

 

[Susan Arendt]

I'm not referring to him as anything. And okay, my claim is unprovable. In that case, it comes down to whether or not EA put that in advertising, as was pointed out.

But I would definitely be pissed if someone tried to use my relative's name. But millions of dollars in damages is uncalled for.

Agreed. Millions in damages? Uh, no. He wants them to issue a patch to update the name of the gun? A bit excessive, in my opinion, but fair. Actual financial compensation? Not unless you can prove that the name of that gun is why people bought the game, pal.

 

[traceur_]

Wow that Dillinger guy was awesome!

But yeh, this gradnson of Dillinger's half-sister is a total dickwad.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Let's say you have a very famous relative, and some yokel down the block who never so much as spoke to your relative starts trying to make money off of that fact. You're telling me you wouldn't take a certain degree of umbrage?

Like W.G.Grace?

I still think demanding millions from someone who made a minor named tribute is just a tad mean.

I doubt even Lucas would sue Austin Powers for having a "Death Star".

And my famous relative got well known for his beard and cricket, not trying to demolish four police stations. It's a little off when we're protecting his right to be remembered for killing policemen, isn't it?

 

[dthree]

Doesn't matter if he's related or not, he's registered the name as a trademark so someone will have to invalidate the trademark to get him to stop. Otherwise, it's pretty clear: if you want to use the name or likeness of John Dillinger, you have to pay for licensing.

 

[oneniesteledain]

I'm not referring to him as anything. And okay, my claim is unprovable. In that case, it comes down to whether or not EA put that in advertising, as was pointed out.

But I would definitely be pissed if someone tried to use my relative's name. But millions of dollars in damages is uncalled for.

Agreed. Millions in damages? Uh, no. He wants them to issue a patch to update the name of the gun? A bit excessive, in my opinion, but fair. Actual financial compensation? Not unless you can prove that the name of that gun is why people bought the game, pal.

I actually think EA would prefer to just issue the patch rather than let this get out of hand, before he actually tries to sue them. Seems most beneficial to all parties.

 

[Susan Arendt]

Let's say you have a very famous relative, and some yokel down the block who never so much as spoke to your relative starts trying to make money off of that fact. You're telling me you wouldn't take a certain degree of umbrage?

Like W.G.Grace?

I still think demanding millions from someone who made a minor named tribute is just a tad mean.

I doubt even Lucas would sue Austin Powers for having a "Death Star".

And my famous relative got well known for his beard and cricket, not trying to demolish four police stations. It's a little off when we're protecting his right to be remembered for killing policemen, isn't it?

Frankly, no. Fame is fame is fame, profit is profit is profit. It doesn't matter if an individual is famous for robbing banks, discovering the cure for cancer or simply being a swell guy -- if someone is trying to profit it from it, you have the right to try and stop them. (Austin Powers counts as parody and therefore isn't judged by the same yardstick.) Again, asking for millions in this particular case is rather absurd.

Also, I've no idea who W.G. Grace is.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Also, I've no idea who W.G. Grace is.

Owch...This guy. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._G._Grace]

The "Babe Ruth" of Cricket, to mix sporting analogies.

 

[IrrelevantTangent]

Is it just me or does that pic of Dillinger at the top of the page really look like how Johnny Depp played him in Public Enemies? Kinda? Sorta?

Still, I don't think that it's really logical to sue EA just because of a single item in their upcoming game. I mean, come on, people. Suing someone for millions over one tiny little item? EA can just change the name anyway, so it's not like the lawsuit'll likely stick.

 

[Jumwa]

I would think that profiting from the Dillinger name would fall under the proceeds of crime issue, and make the descendants claim totally without merit.