True. And it is a shame that Jade gets crap like this...but my point about Ubisoft pushing her image a lot stands...they never do that for say, the producer of Prince of Persia...she's a pretty lady and her face all over Assassin's Creed gave it publicity...which is lame.

First of all, they do not have a lawsuit even against the guy who actually did the cartoon. This falls under satire, protected by the First Amendment of the Consitution of the United States. In other words, if push comes to shove and a lawsuit is filed, it will be thrown out, appeals will probably be laughed off.

American government is one thing, the American legal system is quite another--they could care less about politics, and are not eager to piss on that founding document. I showed it to my Constitutional Law professor yesterday and he thought the response was the funniest thing he's read in a while.

Second, Something Awful didn't make the cartoon, it was posted in the Assassin's Creed megathread. Go hunt around the site for previous legal threats, they're met with the same kind of mockery. While you're at it check out the forums, while there's a lot of jackassery going on, there's also a lot of very smart people on those forums.

If you should be mad at anyone, be mad at Ubisoft for plastering her face all over the place making her their publicity monkey and making it synonamous with Assassin's Creed. The same thing happened to John Romero and Peter Molineaux when they were making games that ended up flopping. This backlash is nothing compared to what Romero got for Daikatana.

In short, they don't have a case and Lowtax and anyone who has taken even a little bit of intro Civil Liberties or Constitutional Law knows it. This does not fall under defamation of character any more than the Larry Flint/Jerry Falwell case, because it's so unbeivable. I know some people like the movie, but the truth is that case was decided way before oral arguments were heard. The satire is too obvious. Cases like real liber or slander aren't that common or publicized, but if you saw one you would definitely see the difference.

I wouldn't call the guy clueless, as he apparently has a better understanding of law than you to make this cartoon in the first place. I agree with you in that the original artist is a dick and the cartoon is pretty mean. Although as someone who dances with the law I can at least laugh at the case itself. Frivilous litigation and scare tactics basically, and they got called on it.

Sorry late reply:

Ubisoft threatens to sue over cartoon which shown Jade Raymond giving oral

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=22851 

One of the defences for a defamation suite is "opinion":

Opinion: It is said that a person's mere opinion, as opposed to an allegation of fact, cannot give rise to an action for defamation.

This parody is obviously not an allegation of fact, so a defamation lawsuit would be thrown out almost immediately.

Oops my mistake, I should have looked over the original email as I thought this might have been happening in another country where the laws for defamation are different.

This amuses me greatly, and that cartoon is hot and hillarious. Though I completely understand those offended by it.

It's out of taste but hardly the worst I've ever seen. I'm sure the lawsuit will be ruled as frivilous and malicious but it will server the purpose of harassing the individual responsable for the comic and make an example to others, don't give Ubisoft bad reviews or else. It's worrisome to see Ubisoft have such thin skin over such trivial matters, but I think they'll manage well enough in the long run.

 From wizegeek.com:

'In the United States certain facts must be established for someone to be found guilty of slander. Assuming there is proof that the defendant uttered the alleged statement, the statement must be overheard by someone other than the subject or other “privileged” parties. Slander must also clearly identify the party or entity, and the intent must be malicious.'

'Some types of slander, however, are considered “slanderous per se” and are automatically awarded general damages without proof of special damages. In this case the slander must do one of the following:



Declare the plaintiff unfit to perform his or her job adequately.

Allege criminal behavior on the part of the plaintiff.

Claim the plaintiff has an unsavory disease.

Make immoral sexual claims, especially about the virtue of a female plaintiff.'

I think having her give multi-fellatio in a comic falls under this.

VGcats had Hillary Clinton giving Jack Trenton Oral sex but no one sued over that. *shrugs* Maybe in French culture (Ubisoft is French right?) this kind of slander is considered far more repulsive than how it is seen in ours?

Somehow I doubt that Onimusha. After all America is a far more sexually repressed society than France. I think politicians don't (read can't) sue over stuff like that because it would make it a bigger deal than it is; sure its all over the internet but its not news until its CNN worthy. Also it would also make them look like they can't take a joke wich Americans tend to look down apon more than extramarital affairs.

Oh and don't take my stance on the letter of the law to mean I think they should be sued or that the suit is not just a bully tactic I'm just saying that there is a real legal recourse. Also its not indicitive of my view of the comic that is some funny stuff.

Yup, definitely. If the guy who originally drew the cartoon is not in the US, God help him. As much as people love to bag on the US, our Constitution is a beautiful thing. It's kind of a weird position in the US where you have to say things like "I absolutely hate what that person says, but I will defend his right to say it." 

Lawyers will defend even neo-Nazis passionately, not because of their message, but because of the First Amendment.  The same law that protects them also protects people who mock them endlessly

I can live with that, it's nice to be able to say what you like about any political figure or policy. Some would call it the ultimate check and balance on rest of the system.