Judge Rules on Lindsay Lohan GTA V Lawsuit

Two years ago, Lindsay Lohan filed a lawsuit against game publisher Take-Two for using her as the basis of a character in Grand Theft Auto V. The lawsuit alleged that Lohan’s likeness and personality were used to create the character of Lacey Jonas (pictured, above right, next to an image of Lohan). Also as part of the suit, Karen Gravano, the daughter of a mob boss, accused the game’s developers of using her as the inspiration for the character of Andrea Bottino.

Lohan’s case against Take-Two hinged on the following argument:

“The Plaintiff has been using the peace sign hand gesture for years before and after its use in the video game.”

While Gravano’s case was:

“[T]hat the character’s story about moving out west to safe houses mirrors Gravano’s fear of being ripped out of her former life and being sent to Nebraska; that the character’s story about dealing with the character’s father cooperating with the state government is the same as Gravano dealing with the repercussions of her father’s cooperation; and that the character’s father not letting the character do a reality show is the same as Gravano’s father publicly decrying her doing a reality show.”

This week, the judge ruled against the two plaintiffs, concluding that “this video game’s unique story, characters, dialogue, and environment, combined with the player’s ability to choose how to proceed in the game, render it a work of fiction and satire” and thus was protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which guarantees the right to free speech.

If only Lohan had copyrighted the ‘peace sign’ that she so obviously invented…

Image courtesy of Digital Trends.