Take-Two Interactive, parent company of Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games, has filed a lawsuit in London today against the BBC for alleged copyright infringement over the broadcaster's upcoming docu-drama 'Game Changer'.
The 90 minute feature is set to focus on the controversy surrounding the Grand Theft Auto series by U.S. lawyer and outspoken video game critic Jack Thompson, played by Bill Paxton, and Rockstar president Sam Houser, who will be portrayed by Daniel Radcliffe.
In a statement to IGN, Rockstar commented:
"Take-Two Interactive has filed suit against the BBC for trademark infringement based on their movie currently titled ‘Game Changer’ as it relates to Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto video game series.
"While holders of the trademarks referenced in the film title and its promotion, Rockstar Games has had no involvement with this project. 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. We have attempted 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."
Filming on Game Changer, which is a working title at present, began on April 20th and the show is due to be aired later this year.
Take-Two's latest financial report revealed that sales of Grand Theft Auto 5, the latest game in the franchise, has sold-in 52 million copies to date. The game was originally released in September 2013 for PS3 and Xbox 360 before being ported to PS4 and Xbox One in November 2014. In April of this year Grand Theft Auto 5 finally launched on PC.
