Activision's "Call of Duty: Black Ops 2" was a gaming sensation when it released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC back in 2012. The game featured a fantastic multiplayer game mode along with a campaign and zombies mode for players to play. When the game released it was at the top of the sales chart and everyone was loving the game. It was not until two years later that a lawsuit occurred relying to the games content.
Former dictator of Panama, Manuel Noriega, sued Activision for how his character in the game was depicted. Noriega claims that the game "portrayed him as 'the culprit of numerous fictional heinous crimes'" (Chung). Along with this claim "he said the company had infringed his right to his own publicity, and sought unspecified damages" (Chung). At the time of the court case Manuel Noriega was still in prison and was not expected to be released for another 18 years.
Activision said the use of the character was protected under the right to free speech, and the judge agreed with their statement. The judge also stated, "Noriega’s right of publicity was outweighed by the defendants’ First Amendment right to free expression, and that there was no evidence of harm to Noriega’s reputation... given the world-wide reporting of his actions in the 1980s and early 1990s, it is hard to imagine that any such evidence exists." After these statements were made the judge dismissed the case in favor of Activision Blizzard Inc.
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