Fire Alarms Systems

John Dillinger 's something related to great-nephew (a stepmother), John Scalf, is back in the news again. You may remember his lawsuit against EA games (or not: It happened almost two years).

Quick refresher: EA 's Godfather Games provide machine guns after famous submachine gun enthusiast, named John Dillinger. Scalf took issue with the use of the famous last name, threatened litigation, unless EA promptly deposited millions of dollars on his account at the next UN robbed bank. EA as his "offering" shortly before filing a lawsuit of their own asking for permission Dillinger 's name to use in their games.

The results are (finally) and is in Scalf (rightly) on the losing side:

The court rejected the claim of public law, Concluded that the Indiana post-mortem right of publicity law is not retroactive and therefore not for Dillinger And that (to be read in light of the First Amendment) to "literary works" exception in the statute broadly enough to cover video games.

The court rejected claim the brand, noting that EA has protected the use of the name "Dillinger" by the First Amendment, because there is some relevance to the plot line had the game and not "intentionally misleading" about a possible endorsement by Dillinger, LLC .

It 'sa good start and perhaps a sign that Scalf' s coattails-riding days are over. The court 's declaration that Indiana' s unusual trademark isn 't should retroactively be sufficient to Scalf \ Kick' s controversial longings to the curb, and that seems really all he has to go for it. Of course, we have seen 've pop the legal doors on a few other players on the active closed (Right Haven, the Winklevii), open only to return moments later be found out. I think we 'll just wait and see.

Scalf can perhaps his dubious legacy by ensuring that Dillinger in his quote "business" slogan:

My friends wanted to firemen, farmers or policemen, are something. Not me, I just wanted to steal people 's money!

Synergy!

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