A 2019 lawsuit filed by WWE Hall of Famer Booker T. Huffman against Activision has been ruled in the video game publisher’s favor.
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The WWE Superstar claimed that Activision’s Prophet character in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was using the likeness of his “G.I. Bro” gimmick, especially in a poster (seen below) sold by Activision. Booker T’s lawyer said that the similarities ranged “from the hair, body type, and clothing, right down to facial expressions” and that it was “too profound to be an accident.” However, Activision argued that a facial expression is not copyrightable and that the pose was generic. Ultimately, the court decided that no copyright was infringed upon.
“We are pleased with the outcome. Bottom line, to call this a frivolous case would be a massive understatement,” Activision trial counsel E. Leon Carter of Carter Arnett said in a statement. “Activision creates games with the utmost integrity and is extremely proud of everyone involved with the development and creative process for all of our games including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, including the incredible talent like William Romeo who helped bring our vision to life. Today, the jury validated that process.”
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The aforementioned poster can be seen below:
