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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,290274,00.html
Rapper 50 Cent Sues Over Internet Ad Using Look-Alike
Saturday, July 21, 2007
NEW YORK - Rapper 50 Cent sued an Internet advertising company for $1
million Friday, claiming it illegally used his image in a game where the
player pretends to shoot him.
The game, called "Shoot the Rapper," shows 50 Cent walking back and forth in
an ad across the top of a Web page while the viewer is encouraged to shoot
him by aiming and clicking with the mouse, court papers say.
A successful shot results in a misty cloud of red, and the viewer is then
directed to another Web page where the ad firm's client sells goods and
services, according to the lawsuit.
The rapper's lawyer, Peter Raymond, says the game doesn't use 50 Cent's
name, but "it looks like him, and there's no doubt the character is intended
to be him."
The lawsuit names Traffix Inc. of Pearl River, N.Y., as the defendant. A
lawyer for the company, Ezio Scaldaferri, said he had not been served with
the papers and could not comment.
The rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson, is a well-known victim
of gun violence, Raymond said. He said the advertising company is using 50
Cent's likeness without his permission and suggesting that he endorses the
game.
"For all those reasons, he is personally offended," the lawyer said.
Raymond said the rapper learned about the ad after one of his management
people saw the it on a MySpace page.
The rapper's lawsuit asks at least $1 million in actual damages, a permanent
injunction against the use of his image without permission, and unspecified
punitive damages.
Rapper 50 Cent Sues Over Internet Ad Using Look-Alike
Saturday, July 21, 2007
NEW YORK - Rapper 50 Cent sued an Internet advertising company for $1
million Friday, claiming it illegally used his image in a game where the
player pretends to shoot him.
The game, called "Shoot the Rapper," shows 50 Cent walking back and forth in
an ad across the top of a Web page while the viewer is encouraged to shoot
him by aiming and clicking with the mouse, court papers say.
A successful shot results in a misty cloud of red, and the viewer is then
directed to another Web page where the ad firm's client sells goods and
services, according to the lawsuit.
The rapper's lawyer, Peter Raymond, says the game doesn't use 50 Cent's
name, but "it looks like him, and there's no doubt the character is intended
to be him."
The lawsuit names Traffix Inc. of Pearl River, N.Y., as the defendant. A
lawyer for the company, Ezio Scaldaferri, said he had not been served with
the papers and could not comment.
The rapper, whose real name is Curtis James Jackson, is a well-known victim
of gun violence, Raymond said. He said the advertising company is using 50
Cent's likeness without his permission and suggesting that he endorses the
game.
"For all those reasons, he is personally offended," the lawyer said.
Raymond said the rapper learned about the ad after one of his management
people saw the it on a MySpace page.
The rapper's lawsuit asks at least $1 million in actual damages, a permanent
injunction against the use of his image without permission, and unspecified
punitive damages.
