‘GTA’ company goes after BBC in court

British actor Daniel Radcliffe. Photo: WILL OLIVER

British actor Daniel Radcliffe. Photo: WILL OLIVER

Published May 23, 2015

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Cape Town - The maker of the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) games franchise, Rockstar Games, is suing the BBC over its new film starring Daniel Radcliffe presently being filmed in Cape Town.

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, said it had filed a lawsuit over trademark infringement.The BBC was quoted as saying it wouldn’t “comment on legal matters”.

The film Game Changer, starring Harry Potter star Radcliffe and Bill Paxton, has been shooting in and around Cape Town in recent weeks.

The BBC2 drama was set to bring the conflict around the rise of the popular video game franchise to the small screen.

Radcliffe has been cast as Sam Houser, co-founder and president of Rockstar Games, which developed the GTA franchise that has sold millions of games worldwide.

Paxton is to play Jack Thompson, an outspoken US attorney who launched a crusade against violence in the franchise.

Take-Two Interactive spokesman Alan Lewis said the group had to protect its intellectual property.

“While holders of the trademarks referenced in the film title and its promotion, Rockstar Games has had no involvement with this project,” it stated.

“Our goal is to ensure that our trademarks are not misused in the BBC’s pursuit of an unofficial depiction of purported events related to Rockstar Games.”

Take-Two Interactive said it had tried “multiple times” to resolve this matter with the BBC “without any meaningful resolution”.

“It is our obligation to protect our intellectual property and unfortunately in this case litigation was necessary.”

Weekend Argus

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