This won’t come as a huge surprise, but former Panamian dictator Manuel Noriega’s lawsuit against Activision over his appearance in Black Ops 2 has been dismissed.
Los Angeles Court Judge William H. Fahey threw the case out, a decision which defense attorney and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani called “an important victory” for free speech.
A quick recap: Noriega started the lawsuit back in July, claiming his appearance in Black Ops 2 (seen above) was “blatant misuse, unlawful exploitation and misappropriation for economic gain” on publisher Activision’s part. Activision responded by lawyering up, hiring Giuliani and dismissing the validity of Noeriega’s claims. The company claimed that if the lawsuit was successful, it would call into the question the entire genre of historical fiction.
“Today’s ruling is a victory for the 40 million dedicated members of our Call of Duty community and global audiences who enjoy historical fiction across all works of art,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard in a statement yesterday. “I want to thank Mayor Giuliani, who has dedicated his life to the protection of citizens against terrorists like Manuel Noriega and today for defending free speech.”
That, it would appear, is that. We’ll keep an eye out for an official response from Noriega’s legal team.
