Wrestler Booker T has filed a lawsuit against Activision and Blizzard Entertainment for copyright infringement, accusing the company of stealing his comic book character, G.I Bro.
The World Champion winner filed court documents, with his legal reps stating [via Gerweck]: “This is an action for copyright infringement. Booker T. created two comic books based on his character ‘G. I. Bro.’ G.I Bro is a special operations action hero.
“Defendants published a series of multiplayer, first-person shooter games under the general title ‘Call of Duty.’
“In 2018, Defendants released Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, a ‘prequel’ to the prior videogame Call of Duty: Black Ops III . In Call of Duty: Black Ops III , one of the ‘specialist’ characters was David ‘Prophet’ Wilkes, who had replaced 90% of his body with ‘cybernetics’ to enhance his fighting ability. For the ‘prequel,’ Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Defendants chose to depict ‘Prophet’ as he was before he remade himself. They could have drawn him any way they wanted. But they chose to steal Booker T.’s ‘G. I. Bro.’”
Professional wrestler Booker T is suing video game giant Activision Blizzard Inc. for copyright infringement for allegedly copying his G.I. Bro persona for a character in the latest “Call of Duty”
— Kevin Landers (@Kevin10TV) February 14, 2019
To be fair, they do look pretty similar…
So Booker T is sueing @Treyarch @Activision for ripping off his likeness for the prophet speiclist ?????? @RobsStang pic.twitter.com/moR3rNdSrT
— FPS 24/7 (@cod247tweets) February 13, 2019
The news comes at a difficult time for Activision Blizzard, which is currently under fire for laying off over 800 employees – around 8% of its staff.
The shocking lay-offs are even more of a surprise as Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has previously announced that 2018’s financial results for the company were “the best in our history.”
Unlike during the collapse of studio Telltale Games last year, Activision Blizzard employees who have lost their jobs have at least been given a “comprehensive severance package.”
Featured Image Credit: Activision Blizzard