Monday, December 13, 2004

Maybe my 'make-believe' friend makes me a criminal

Just when you thought copyright challenges couldn't get any weirder:

Marvel Comics filed suit against the operators of "City of Heroes," alleging copyright and trademark infringement, among other claims. According to the complaint, the players are infringing Marvel's copyrights and trademarks by creating characters that are recognizable copies of Marvel characters, including Wolverine and the Incredible Hulk.

Yes, you read that right -- Marvel's claim is based on the idea that private individuals who pretend to be Wolverine for fun in a video game are breaking the law. Since when is it illegal to pretend to be your favorite superhero? Should parents be policing their kids, lest they be caught "pretending without a license"? Were all those drawings of the X-Men on grammar school notebooks evidence of infringement? And what about all those homemade superhero Halloween costumes?


It's only going to get worse folks....

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