Despite the lukewarm reception of Black Ops Cold War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is still beloved by players. With the next DLC rumored to be dropping "any day now," it's clear that Modern Warfare and its counterparts in Call of Duty: Mobile and Warzone are not slowing down.
At least, they aren't slowing down on a gameplay front. On a legal level, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has hit a snag, and from an unexpected source. A man named Clayton Haugen is suing Activision over copyright infringement, claiming that one of the characters in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a direct ripoff of his copyrighted character.
Specifically, Haugen claims that the character Mara, one of the central figures across Modern Warfare, Mobile, and Warzone, is a direct copy of his copyrighted character Cade Janus. He bases this on the fact that, apparently, both are based off the same thing: a photoshoot Haugen commissioned from cosplayer and actress Alex Zedra. According to Haugen, the photoshoot was used as part of a movie pitch for a film centered on Cade Janus, and was later copied by Activision as the basis for Mara. If the lawsuit swings in Haugen's favor, Mara may drop from player's expectations for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare in 2021.
Haugen further claims that Mara was an essential part of Activision's marketing campaign for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Female protagonists are very seldom front and center for the Call of Duty franchise, and Haugen claims Mara's presence helped make Call of Duty: Modern Warfare a serious money maker. While his exact photoshoot was not claimed as the source of Mara's design, Haugen does claim that Activision asked Zedra to recreate the ensemble used for his shoot, attempting to copy the design as closely as possible.
To this end, Haugen has called for a trial by jury, claiming copyright infringement for his character. If he wins the lawsuit, Activision could well owe him a lot of money. Despite fans not liking the ads in recent games, no one can deny the Call of Duty franchise is lucrative, and Modern Warfare is a standout.
That said, the lawsuit seems shaky in places. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has been out for some time, and Haugen's photoshoot happened back around 2013. Also, despite some similarities between the character's, it looks like it will be a little tricky to prove one is infringing on the other based off a shared inspiration. Activision has fixed game breaking bugs for Modern Warfare, now players will see if it can fix the game's legal troubles as well.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Torrent Freak