Call of Duty games can depict Humvees without a license, says judge

A New York judge has ruled that publisher Activision isn’t infringing trademark by featuring Humvees in its Call of Duty series. The decision, handed down yesterday, is a mark in favor of game developers depicting actual military equipment to create a sense of realism.

Humvee maker AM General sued Activision in 2017, claiming Call of Duty players were “deceived into believing that AM General licenses the games.” Activision denied the claim, saying it had a First Amendment right to depict official military equipment in a war game. Using trademark to control creative work was “dangerous under any circumstance,” its lawyers wrote, “but the claims in this case are particularly egregious because they involve a US military vehicle paid for by...

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