A California appellate court has held (Kirby v. Sega of America) that makers of video games have a First Amendment right to base game characters on real celebrities, as long as the characters have been transformed. The celebrity in this case, Lady Miss Kier, former lead singer for Deee-Lite, claimed a character (named “Ulala”) in the video game Space Channel 5, infringed her rights. Not so—at least not in this case. So what does “transformed” mean? For that, you have to call us (or read the case for yourself).
Insights at the intersection of digital and mobile technology, innovation and the law