Wednesday, May 9th 2012
Black Ops 2 Could Put Activision in Legal Trouble
Activision is already going at it in court with Jason West and Vince Zampella over their dismissal from Infinity Ward in 2009, but a clause in a Memorandum of Understanding filed with the lost wages and royalties suit in 2010 could affect the recently announced Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. According to Game Informer, Activision continues to hold the rights to the Call of Duty franchise, but Call of Duty games set in "modern day (post Vietnam), the near future or distant future" would be retained by Infinity Ward. With Black Ops 2 set in 2025, developer Treyarch put a lot of thought in the futuristic setting. An intellectual property attorney said that, if West and Zampella win their suit, Activision could be forced to pull the game, but a more likely scenario is money damages awarded by the court.
However, clause 4(D) at the end of the memorandum specifically states that if IW management (Ward and Zampella) are no longer employed by Activision, then the terms of the memorandum are no longer in effect. This seems to override any potential problem, but it is yet another issue that the court must rule on. With Black Ops 2 setting pre-order records, the game could be a cash cow for Activision. A ruling against the publishing giant, though, could mean West and Zampella would get prime cuts of that cow if the employment clause is not enforced.
Source:
Shacknews
However, clause 4(D) at the end of the memorandum specifically states that if IW management (Ward and Zampella) are no longer employed by Activision, then the terms of the memorandum are no longer in effect. This seems to override any potential problem, but it is yet another issue that the court must rule on. With Black Ops 2 setting pre-order records, the game could be a cash cow for Activision. A ruling against the publishing giant, though, could mean West and Zampella would get prime cuts of that cow if the employment clause is not enforced.
40 Comments on Black Ops 2 Could Put Activision in Legal Trouble
There are better, newer, game engines!! Engines that can actually do something besides horny rabbit fragging and nazi zombie survival!!
Heck Source engine is old but at least you can do a lot of modern tricks with it. The engine for COD may be heavily modified but its still has the archaic foundation limiting it. Paying Activision mega bucks to continue this yearly tradition of churning out titles with the least amount of effort.
Just hearing the name Call of Duty makes me want to puke up a little.
LC
This is a weak case and Activision will prevail and I can't wait to play it!
Don't like CoD then don't buy it...
This sums up teh Cod games nicely.
who is "Ward and Zampella"
Infinity Ward took 3 weeks off during MW2. MW3 was a little smoother though.
I'll probably end up with this on the Xbox since it's exclusively what my friends play, and I like playing games with my friends. Kinda sucks, but it can be fun with the right people.
The thing that bothers me is the fact that it's a brand new title with a brand new price tag for incrimintal upgrades that don't really justify the price tag. With a subscription based service to further rape your fanbase. I do like the series, I just wish it was a little cheaper to play.
Edit:
On the topic, I don't think there's anything legally holding back Activision from releasing BO2. If I read the OP right the condition that West and Zampella are no longer with Infinity Ward has been met. Or did I read it wrong?
i havent played W@W, bought i've bought black ops for PC last year. and i stopped playing it before completed the first mission
the game runs so badly, that i even get above 20fps with low settings (i got over >50 fps when playing MW2 on higher resolution and settings..). i think its not just me, i found countless of the same cases on youtube.
treyarch messed up the codes??