Humvee maker sues Activision over trademark infringement in ‘Call of Duty’ franchise

The maker of Humvee military vehicles, AM General, has filed a lawsuit against Activision Blizzard for using their High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles in Call of Duty without their permission.

Basically, AM General is saying the Call of Duty series featured Humvees and sold Call of Duty merchandise with Humvees and made a bunch of money in doing so and now they want a cut.

According to AM General, Activision took advantage of its ‘goodwill and reputation’ in the Humvee market by featuring them prominently in Call of Duty and licensing related content for use in toys and books. They even believe that the Humvee is a is a key “selling feature of the games.”

There’s no doubt that the Call of Duty franchise has sold well, but AM General believes that the sales came “only at the expense of AM General and consumers who are deceived into believing that AM General licenses the games or is somehow connected with or involved in the creation of the games.”

It’s safe to say that Call of Duty has featured its fair share of Humvees, but it’s hard to believe that someone would purchase Call of Duty for the Humvees and somehow AM General seems to believe that is the case.

[Channel News Asia]