Backup singer loses lawsuit against Take-Two over GTA: San Andreas

Mike Suszek — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST

Michael "Shagg" Washington, supposed former Cypress Hill backup singer (though the band denied any affiliation), lost his 2010 lawsuit against Take-Two Interactive and Rockstar Games over alleged use of his likeness in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Wednesday. Washington claimed he met with the game's developers in 2003 to discuss his troubled youth and "street life." He first learned of his resemblance to the game's "CJ" character six years later, leading to the $250 million lawsuit.

The California appeals court upheld the ruling in favor of Take-Two, in which the judge said the "plaintiff is relying entirely on CJ's physical appearance in the game, but that appearance is so generic that it necessarily includes hundreds of other black males." The lack of evidence in whether Take-Two actually used Washington's likeness, in addition to a failed test for insufficiently transformative use, led to Washington losing the case.

Backup singer loses lawsuit against Take-Two over GTA: San Andreas originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Nov 2012 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Cypress Hill backup singer suing Rockstar and Take-Two over GTA: San Andreas (seriously)

Ben Gilbert — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:07:00 EST

When you think of Cypress Hill, you probably don't think of riding bicycles around the mean streets of Rockstar's fictional "San Andreas." But perhaps that's where your mind should go, argues backup singer Michael "Shagg" Washington, who's suing the developer (and its publisher, Take-Two Interactive) six years after the game's release. Washington claims he met with Rockstar in 2003 "to talk about street life for the [then] upcoming game," including a description of his "troubled life in his youth" and specifics about "how the teenagers in his gang rode around on bicycles."

IGN got its hands on a copy of the suit, which explains that Washington didn't see San Andreas in action until this past July, when his nephew was playing it. "The plaintiff had never seen the game. He did not own or play video games," the complaint admits, further explaining, "Upon examination of images of 'CJ' and comparison to his photos from that year and other evidence, it became clear that Rockstar had stolen his image and never paid him."

For Washington's claims, he's asking for 25 percent of Rockstar's profits from San Andreas -- approximately $250 million. Take-Two, unsurprisingly, says the case "is completely without merit" and the publisher "will vigorously defend itself in the matter."

Cypress Hill backup singer suing Rockstar and Take-Two over GTA: San Andreas (seriously) originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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