Grand Theft Auto makers to sue BBC over trademark infringement in new drama

Take-Two Interactive, parent company of Rockstar North, which is based in Edinburgh and makes the series has filed a case against the BBC over trademark infringement in relation to the drama Game Changer, which looks at how the series was developed.

Take-Two said in a statement to the website IGN: “Take-Two Interactive has filed suit against the BBC for trademark infringement based on their movie currently titled Game Changer as it relates to Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto video game series.

“While holders of the trademarks referenced in the film title and its promotion, Rockstar Games has had no involvement with this project.

“Our goal is to ensure that our trademarks are not misused in the BBC’s pursuit of an unofficial depiction of purported events related to Rockstar Games.

“We have attempted multiple times to resolve this matter with the BBC without any meaningful resolution. It is our obligation to protect our intellectual property and unfortunately in this case litigation was necessary.”

The drama will star Daniel Radcliffe as Sam Houser, president of Rockstar, and Bill Paxton as American lawyer and critic of the game Jack Thompson.

The feature is apparently based around the infamy and development of the original game.

The BBC said it is about “the story of the controversy surrounding the computer game Grand Theft Auto - arguably the greatest British coding success story since Bletchley Park”.

In response to the filing of the lawsuit, the BBC told Scottish Legal News: “We do not comment on legal matters.”