The Future Setting of Black Ops II Could Land Activision In Legal Trouble
It looks like Activision may end up involved in another court case, this time over Treyarch’s Black Ops II. Apparently the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was filed with the lost wages and royalties suit back in 2010 has a specific clause in it. The clause states that “Activision will retain authority and responsibility over all titles within the Call of Duty franchise {specifically excluding any Call of Duty title set in modern day (post Vietnam). The near future or distant future, which shall be under the authority of IW}.” This clause would indicate that Black Ops II is in direct violation of this clause and Treyarch decided to go with a near future setting regardless. There is however one remaining sticking point in the clause, it states that if IW managment aka Jason West and Vince Zampella are no longer working for Activision, then the terms of the MOU are null and void. Activision themselves have stated “There is no basis for the plaintiffs in the Infinity Ward suit to block the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II.” With that said, considering the tension between Infinity Ward and Activision, it won’t be surprising if this becomes another protracted legal battle anyway. More in depth analysis of the topic can be found at the source.
Many of the court documents make mention of the post-Vietnam clause, but the current status of the agreement is unknown. I asked Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia about the matter last month, and he declined to comment. Other attempts to reach out to Activision reps have been met with similar silence (which is understandable considering theyre in relation to ongoing litigation). One likely scenario is that Activision believes the agreement was voided when West and Zampella were fired, allowing Treyarch to legally break the Vietnam barrier. Despite this, we may not know for sure until more details of the ongoing trial are made public.
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