John Dillinger's Family In Lawsuit With EA Over Dillinger Name

from the protecting-the-legacy dept

A few years ago, we wrote about how the grand-nephew of famed bank robber John Dillinger claiming rights over Dillinger's name, and threatening to sue anyone who either claims that Dillinger killed anyone (this is in dispute) or who is using Dillinger's name and making money. Of course, he has almost no legal basis for this, but it doesn't stop him from threatening litigation. The latest target? Video game giant EA. The gamemaker, who used "Dillinger" guns in various video games, is now preemptively taking the guy to court after he demanded millions of dollars from them -- and by doing so, gets to choose a more favorable court. It's good that EA's being proactive about this -- and hopefully a big win in court will stop others from being bullied by this guy.

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Legal Issues

by Mike Masnick

Thu, Nov 15th 2007 9:21am

Don't Say Something Bad About John Dillinger; His Great-Nephew Might Sue

from the intellectual-property-run-amok dept

Against Monopoly points us to yet another article highlighting a ridiculous end result of excessive intellectual property laws. You're probably familiar with the name John Dillinger, the famed bank robber who was eventually gunned down outside a Chicago movie theater. Apparently, his grand-nephew is now claiming rights over John Dillinger's name, threatening to sue anyone who refers to Dillinger as a killer or trying to profit off of Dillinger's name. This for a man who died over 70 years ago. This idea that someone's name is "owned" by someone else, seems pretty ridiculous, but is the result of a misreading on an already bad Indiana law on privacy rights. The law was passed in 1994 and only applies to people who died after 1994 -- meaning that Dillinger isn't covered. Also, courts have been striking back against such laws, noting that they're problematic when they end up limiting free speech or giving someone ownership over how factual information can be used. This is an unfortunate result of too many in our society believing that ideas and information can somehow be "owned" and controlled.

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John Dillinger's Family In Lawsuit With EA Over Dillinger Name

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Don't Say Something Bad About John Dillinger; His Great-Nephew Might Sue

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