First Amendment rescues Grand Theft Auto's 'totally nude' strip club

The United States Constitution has once again affirmed the freedom for video strippers in Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas to shake their digital naughty bits without fear of trademark violation. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday dismissed a lawsuit by owners of the East Los Angeles strip club, "The PlayPen," …

[Anonymous Coward]

What if I don't want my case fingered?

Fantastic judgment, both in result and content. They could have used a copy editor, though...

[Anonymous Coward]

Trademarks

The reasons quoted seem to have more in common with trademarks than with the First Amendment. They focus on the fact that "nothing indicates that the buying public would reasonable have believed that ESS produced the video game or, for that matter, that Rockstar operated a strip club". Indeed, you can use a trademarked name as long as you do it in a different industry. Thus there can legally be a Linux kernel and a Linux detergent, a UNIX OS and UNIX car dealer.

[Michael Chester]

hmmm

Isn't there a right to parody under Merkin law that Rockstar could hae just as easily defended themselves with?

[James O'Brien]

HAHAHAHA

"It also seems far-fetched that someone playing San Andreas would think ESS had provided whatever expertise, support, or unique strip-club knowledge it possesses to the production of the Game."

Damn good of the courts to see this is just a frivolous lawsuit. I know thats not what they said exactly but point is there. Course this does make me wonder....exactly what expertise, support and knowledge would they provide?

No No No your dancing on the pole all wrong this is how you do it, now make sure you also put things in the right hole for the scenes out back of the club....

/mines the one with the trojans in the pocket.

[ratfox]

Hat tip to the judges

Who obviously treated correctly this example of the merkin justice system

If I stare all the time at the PH icon, does that make her a Reg editor?

[Tony Hoyle]

Title

"Tip o' the hat to Eric Goldman for fingering the case"

Interesting choice of words there.. or perhaps it's just my warped mind.

[Anonymous Coward]

Burn them BOTH!!!!!!

Burn them in the searing fires of HELL for ALL ETERNITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burn their sinful flesh from their sin ridden bones, burn them on the HOTTEST fires you can build!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burn them, burn the buildings that they have contaminated with their sin and wickedness. Burn the computers from HELL that play these "GAMES" and turn innocent children into slavering PERVERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burn the MEN that force young girls into lewdly displaying their voluptuous, tender, firm, nubile..., young bodies for the LUST DRIVEN "ENTERTAINMENT" of PERVERTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Burn the greedy BANKERS whose GREED and AVERICE drive them to lend the owners of these corporations MILLIONS of DOLLARS at enormous interest rates. DOLLARS which could have been used in GODS WORK. To help GODS people while their are showing these wayward PERVERTS the ERROR OF THEIR WAYS and the HELL and DAMNATION that awaits them if they do not accept the GOOD LORD into their LIVES.

BURN THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Steen Hive]

@Trademarks

"UNIX car dealer."

That'd be SCO then?

[Anonymous Coward]

@Trademarks

How long before someone starts up a double glazing business called Microsoft Windows?

[Jeremy]

Childish sniggering

Trade dress? Strip joint? Heheheheheh

[Andy Tunnah]

o common sense how i love thee!

this is one of those rare occasions when the suetards (i'm hereby copyrighting that word and anyone found using it will be sued) have been well and truly told to take a run and jump

good on the judge for throwing this absolute crap out!

[Tim Bates]

Dumbasses

What dumbass company thinks that a similar place in a game is somehow detrimental to their business? If anything it's positive. They basically sued over a free ad!

[Secretgeek]

I had my case fingered once.

Oh, happy days.

I'll get my coat.

[Dave]

Brrrrrum Brrrrummmmm

Where can I buy a Unix car?

[Anonymous Coward]

Ouch

"Both San Andreas and PlayPen offer a form of low-brow entertainment"

Not exactly a shock to the people involved, but I'm glad no judge has said this about my code!

Paris, because you could spend all your time online looking at her, but do you? Oh, you do....

[The Avangelist]

that is true

But it would not be OK if LINUX detergent then slapped a penguin on the box.

[Kerberos]

Re: Trademarks - Not neccesarily so...

I believe that if the name is invented, and not an existing word, then the trademark can span the whole domain. Invented names such as Xerox are trademarked across the full range while terms such as Apple are not.

Anyway I think this falls under fair use parody, which is protected.

[Boz]

@Burn them both

Jack Thompson? When did you get here? and for that matter WHY are you here?

[TimM]

Re: Dumbasses

"What dumbass company thinks that a similar place in a game is somehow detrimental to their business? If anything it's positive. They basically sued over a free ad!"

Ah well, not so dumb really. They had free advertising, but wait... if they sue, they potentially stand to get paid for someone else doing the free advertising, *and* the case itself generates further advertising! ;)

... but it backfired.

Still, the case advertising will still probably make up for the legal costs they'll have to pay.

[Aaron]

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows Double Glazing, unlikely, I seem to remember M&S having problems with calling their underwear fabric Micro Soft!

[Adam Foxton]

How long before someone starts up a double glazing business called Microsoft Windows?

Or "Vista Windows"

or even the business oriented "Windows for Workgroups"?

Or- appropriately for a story about a strip club- "Longhorn Windows"?