The latest interpretation of the Transformative Use test
In ruling for the plaintiffs in Davis v. Electronic Arts earlier this week, the Ninth Circuit has given us the latest interpretation of the Transformative Use test. This ruling comes only a few months following a contrasting ruling in Noriega v. Activision, in which the Transformative Use defense led to a ruling in favor of the defendant.
The Activision case centered on inclusion of former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani served as co-counsel for Activision, and the following Hollywood Reporter article provides good insight as well as a link to the defense’s memo in support of its motion to strike Noriega’s complaint.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/call-duty-can-rudy-giuliani-734737
It is interesting to consider if the day might ever come when Rudy Giuliani might want to assert his own Right of Publicity in response to a commercial use of some kind.
In its Davis v. Electronic Arts ruling, the court looked to its prior ruling in Keller v. Electronic Arts, where the court also rejected the Transformative Use defense advanced by EA. The court in Davis v. Electronic Arts stated that the Madden video game “replicates players’ physical characteristics and allows users to manipulate them in the performance of the same activity for which they are known in real life – playing football for an NFL team.”
There are certainly considerable differences between the extent of use, purpose of use, and commercial aspects between the use of former NFL players in the Madden game and that of Noriega in Black Ops II, so in general, I applaud the Ninth Circuit’s rejection of the Transformative Use defense in its determination, and in not taking the usual “throw the baby out with the bath water” that too-often seems to accompany rulings concerning the Right of Publicity, as in the overreaching ruling in Indiana against the heir of John Dillinger in a case against EA.
http://rightofpublicity.com/pdf/cases/EADillinger26-17-11.pdf
That ruling led to my effort to amend Indiana’s Right of Publicity statute in 2011 and 2012, which was passed and successfully maintained the integrity of Indiana’s Right of Publicity statute:
http://rightofpublicity.com/faber-secures-passage-of-indiana-right-of-publicity-statute
Here is a link to the January 6, 2015 ruling in Davis v. Electronic Arts:
http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/12-15737/12-15737-2015-01-06.html
Former Rutgers Quarterback Ryan Hart wins Right of Publicity claim against EA
Earlier this week, a ruling from the Third Circuit came down in favor of former Rutgers quarterback Ryan Hart in his claim against video game manufacturer Electronic Arts (EA). In short, the ruling concludes that the use of Hart in the NCAA football video game is not transformative. This of course makes perfect sense, as the objective in sports video game programming is to make things as realistic as possible. In other words, the goal is to transform as little as possible.
The court also explains in its ruling that the oft-cited Rogers test is not the best fit for the situation presented in Hart’s claim against EA, and confirmed that the First Amendment does not trump the Right of Publicity in a non-transformative, commercial use such as the Right of Publicity.
Here is a link to the court’s ruling: