50 Cent sues over 'Shoot the Rapper'

BoomerD

No Lifer
Feb 26, 2006
66,371
14,783
146
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...ap_en_mu/people50_cent

NEW YORK - Rapper 50 Cent sued an Internet advertising company for $1 million Friday, claiming it illegally used his image in a game where the player pretends to shoot him.

The game, called "Shoot the Rapper," shows 50 Cent walking back and forth in an ad across the top of a Web page while the viewer is encouraged to shoot him by aiming and clicking with the mouse, court papers say.

A successful shot results in a misty cloud of red, and the viewer is then directed to another Web page where the ad firm's client sells goods and services, according to the lawsuit.

The rapper's lawyer, Peter Raymond, says the game doesn't use 50 Cent's name, but "it looks like him, and there's no doubt the character is intended to be him."

The lawsuit names Traffix Inc. of Pearl River, N.Y., as the defendant. A lawyer for the company, Ezio Scaldaferri, said he had not been served with the papers and could not comment.

The rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson, is a well-known victim of gun violence, Raymond said. He said the advertising company is using 50 Cent's likeness without his permission and suggesting that he endorses the game.

"For all those reasons, he is personally offended," the lawyer said.

Raymond said the rapper learned about the ad after one of his management people saw the it on a MySpace page.

The rapper's lawsuit asks at least $1 million in actual damages, a permanent injunction against the use of his image without permission, and unspecified punitive damages.



This should be made into a Full-Feature game...and sold on ALL platforms...
 

Aquila76

Diamond Member
Apr 11, 2004
3,549
2
0
www.facebook.com
Since when did being 'personally offended' = $1 million? I guess he better sue SNL, MadTV, et al. for all the likenesses of him that they used when he was a rapper (now a SCO-per).
 

Fingolfin269

Lifer
Feb 28, 2003
17,948
34
91
Originally posted by: Aquila76
Since when did being 'personally offended' = $1 million? I guess he better sue SNL, MadTV, et al. for all the likenesses of him that they used when he was a rapper (now a SCO-per).

It isn't about being offended. Go read it again.
 

slpaulson

Diamond Member
Jun 5, 2000
4,414
14
81
I have to admit, I'd be kinda pissed if there was an ad saying shoot the nerd, with a picture of me walking back and forth.
 

brxndxn

Diamond Member
Apr 3, 2001
8,475
0
76
It's parody.. he has to live with it..

'his likeness' and 'an actual picture of him' are two different things..
 

mugs

Lifer
Apr 29, 2003
48,920
46
91
Originally posted by: brxndxn
It's parody.. he has to live with it..

Based on the article, it sounds like it's an advertisement. You can't use a person's likeness in an advertisement without their permission.

'his likeness' and 'an actual picture of him' are two different things..

Not true. Read up on Crispin Glover and Back to the Future: Part 2. He won a lawsuit, because another actor was made to look like him and act like he did in Back to the Future.
 

cKGunslinger

Lifer
Nov 29, 1999
16,408
57
91
Originally posted by: Inspector Jihad
he gets shot at in the god awful game of his, this isnt that different

Except that he gets $$ from that venture, while he doesn't from this one.

Pretty big difference. :D
 

Torghn

Platinum Member
Mar 21, 2001
2,171
0
76
Originally posted by: mugs

Not true. Read up on Crispin Glover and Back to the Future: Part 2. He won a lawsuit, because another actor was made to look like him and act like he did in Back to the Future.


Not true, they actually settled out of court.
 

yhelothar

Lifer
Dec 11, 2002
18,409
39
91
Hope he wins... not even because I agree with 50cent, but because those advertising companies are scum.
 

hotsoda

Senior member
Oct 29, 2006
551
0
0
Originally posted by: mugs
Not true. Read up on Crispin Glover and Back to the Future: Part 2. He won a lawsuit, because another actor was made to look like him and act like he did in Back to the Future.
I thought that was because they used a few recycled bits that weren't shown in the movie before that?
 

smack Down

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2005
4,507
0
0
Originally posted by: mugs
Originally posted by: brxndxn
It's parody.. he has to live with it..

Based on the article, it sounds like it's an advertisement. You can't use a person's likeness in an advertisement without their permission.

'his likeness' and 'an actual picture of him' are two different things..

Not true. Read up on Crispin Glover and Back to the Future: Part 2. He won a lawsuit, because another actor was made to look like him and act like he did in Back to the Future.

I don't think the flash game would be considered an advertisement. The game it self isn't trying to sell a product. That game is to get you to click on it and go to an ad.