Former dictator Noriega loses lawsuit for using his image … – The World

The Superior Court of Los Angeles County dismissed the lawsuit filed by the Panamanian former dictator Manuel Antonio Noriega against videogame company Activision Blizzard , which was accused of using . her image in a video game without permission

Noriega, 80 and imprisoned in his country, claiming compensation to the California company on the grounds that the popular game ‘Call of Duty: Blacks Ops II’ had benefited from having a character with his face and his name.

The subject of the game was presented as a villain.

Judge William H. Fahey gave good the motion by the company, requesting the annulment of the cause because the inclusion of the character Noriega in the game was protected by the right to freedom of expression .

“ This case was absurd from the start and we are satisfied that at the end of a recognized criminal not win a. This is not just a win for the makers of ‘Call of Duty’, but a victory for the works and Art in the entertainment and publishing industry worldwide, “said attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani, former New York mayor, was one of the leading proponents of defending Activision Blizzard in this demand .

The frames of the game ‘Call of Duty’ are based on headlines, but the plot is fictional, and have, in addition to Noriega, including characters from Fidel Castro and John F. Kennedy

The video game “Call of Duty. Blacks Ops II ‘was released in 2012 and grossed 1,000 million (787, 7 million euros) in sales in just two weeks.

On September 19 the Supreme Court of Panama confirmed that Manuel Antonio Noriega would be tried for the murder of an opposition in 1969, although the case was dismissed in 2007.

After the fall of the dictatorship, December 20, 1989 by a US military invasion, Noriega has served time in the US and France for drug trafficking and money laundering.

For almost three years ago the former general purge prison El Renacer prison, located in the outskirts of Panama City, because sentences totaling 60 years for serious violations of human rights.

Noriega are pending against at least two other lawsuits over for the disappearance and death of opponents to the Panamanian dictatorship (1968-1989).