The creator of a character called “Cade Janus”, developed as part of a film proposal, is taking Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming to the courts, accusing them of acting behind their backs and stealing the character for use in Called modern armament war.
Like Torrentfreak reportClayton Haugen claims he created the character years ago and even worked with streamer Alex Zedra to bring Janus to life.
Haugen’s lawsuit alleges that, in trying to draw attention to his work by posting it on social media, Activision and some partners took notice of the character and actively worked to put her in the game, changing her name to “Mara” and going so far as to (this is directly from the deposit):
an. I used Cade Photography Janus de Haugen as guides on how to frame your own images and photographs
B. Hired the same talent he posed for Cade Photography Janus de Haugen
ç. He asked for the talent to ask Haugen for the same clothes and equipment she wore when he created Cade Janus Photographs
d. Hired the same makeup artist who prepared the talent for Cade’s photographs Janus de Haugen
and. Guided her to do the talent makeup exactly as she had done for Cade Janus de Haugen’s photographs
f. He instructed her to style the talent’s hair exactly as she had done for Cade Janus de Haugen Photographs, even using the same hair extension, and then
g. He photographed and scanned the talent three-dimensionally using the Cade Photography Janus de Haugen as a guide.
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Haugen’s suit is also full of photos comparing his original photo shoot with Activision’s promotional material for Call of Duty, with “Mara”
What raises this from an allegation of “they stole my art” to a copyright infringement case seeking damages is that Haugen says he registered the copyright to his story in 2012-13 and his photographs in 2020.
He is looking to “recover all monetary remedies for the Defendants’ infraction, including all of their profits attributable to the infractions”, along with the recovery of their legal costs and fees.