Activision Accused Of Stealing Call Of Duty Character

The creator of a character developed to be used as part of a film pitch is taking Activision, Infinity Ward and Major League Gaming to court, having accused the companies of stealing their work.

As reported by Torrentfreak (and picked up by Kotaku), the character in question is called “Cade Janus.” She was created by Clayton Haugen years ago, who even enlisted the services of streamer Alex Zedra to bring the character to life.

Haugen believes that the Call of Duty Modern Warfare character Mara is actually based on their character, and claims that Activision would have been made aware of the character when she was published on social media. Haugen claims the accused company allegedly made a number of steps to implement the character into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).

mara call of duty
Credit: Activision

Haugen also claims that Activision not only stole the character but also changed her name to “Mara”. When you look at the comparison photographic evidence, it’s practically impossible to not to see the likeness.

The lawsuit also details the steps that Activision allegedly made to put the character into their game. According to Kotaku, the information below is taken directly from the filing:

a. Used Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs as guides for how to frame their own imaging and photographs

b. Hired the same talent who had posed for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs

c. Asked the talent to ask Haugen for the same clothing and gear that she wore when he created the Cade Janus Photographs

d. Hired the same makeup professional who prepared the talent for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs

e. Directed her to do the talent’s makeup exactly as she had for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs

f. Directed her to style the talent’s hair exactly as she had for Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs, even using the same hair piece extension, and then

g. Photographed and three-dimensionally scanned the talent using Haugen’s Cade Janus Photographs as a guide.

Haugen also copyrighted their story for the Cade Janus character in 2012/13 as well as the original photo shoot images in 2020, strengthening Haugen’s claim to copyright infringement.

Haugen hopes to “recover all monetary remedies from Defendants infringement, including all of their profits attributable to their infringements”, as well as recouping all legal fees that occurred as a result of the claim.

Do you believe that Clayton Haugen has a case against Activision? Share your thoughts across our social media channels.

modern warfare
Credit: Activision

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Featured Image Credit: Activision