Activision sued by NovaLogic over “Delta Force” in MW3

Game developer NovaLogic, has sued Activision over using the “Delta Force” logo and name in MW3. Their complaint states:

“There is no unit of the U.S. Army called Delta Force… There is a branch of the Army’s Special Operations known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta (‘1st SF-ODD’). The U.S. Army officially denies that any unit called Delta Force exists and does not claim ownership to either the Delta Force name or the logo… The infringing mark’s lightning rod is horizontal rather than vertical and a portion of the delta sign is set behind the dagger blade rather than being superimposed.”

According to the report, Activision denied their request to change this back in May 2011 [when MW3 was announced]. Their complaint described:

“As a result of defendants’ [Activision’s] wrongful conduct, NovaLogic has lost millions of dollars, possibly more,” according to the complaint. “If defendants’ infringing practices are not discontinued quickly, it is likely that the damage to NovaLogic will grow exponentially, causing more confusion in the market place, and to the reputation for quality that NovaLogic has worked so hard to establish.”

Activision hasn’t commented on the matter yet. It will be interesting to see what happens if NovaLogic wins this case. Will ATVI be forced to remove Delta Force completely from MW3? Or simply just pay a settlement to NovaLogic?

Activision is already in another legal mess with the Infinity Ward Employee Group, which yesterday ATVI paid them $42m.

SOURCE: Call of Duty Wikia