Home Gaming Brazil seeks to have Episodes From Liberty City pulled… worldwide

Brazil seeks to have Episodes From Liberty City pulled… worldwide

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Huh, so Brazil is back in the news with another GTA related piece of weird. Last week we had that amazing, GTA-style car chase that ended with some police brutality. This week’s Brazilian GTA news is in no way connected to the events of last week, so don’t for a second think this is a knee-jerk reaction on behalf of Brazil’s authorities.

Kotaku’s Brazilian editor for Kotaku Brazil has reported that a court in São Paulo has filed a lawsuit against Rockstar for copyright infringement. Now, the court is calling for all copies (including digital) of Episodes From Liberty City to be removed from retail… across the globe.

The copyright infringement points towards a specific music track that is featured in The Ballad of Gay Tony. The song in question is Conga Kid feat. MC Miltinho by Daniel Haaksman. The song apparently uses a sample from another Brazilian composer’s song: Bota o Dedinho pro Alto by Hamilton Lourenço da Silva.

It gets fishier: MC Miltinho, who features in “Conga Kid”, is a kid himself – only eight years old. Who is his father? Why Hamilton Lourenço da Silva of course! So surely he’d know that the song his son is featured in is using a sample from a song he wrote. Of course he knows that – he’d be the most appalling father if he didn’t. This then points towards the only other option: he’s looking to squeeze some extra royalties from Rockstar.

But wait! It gets even fishier! Rockstar Games, when approached by Kotaku for comment, had no idea they were being taken to court. They also have all of the signed papers authorising them to use the song in The Ballad of Gay Tony.

Of course, that’s not stopping the Brazilian court from committing Episodes From Liberty City genocide. They’ve ordered that Rockstar will have to pay a fine of US$3000 a day while the GTA IV expansion continues to be sold – worldwide. Brazil, what the hell is going on?

Source: Kotaku

Last Updated: October 19, 2010

6 Comments

  1. Interesting and very confusing!

    It could be that Rockstar only approached Haakman, and not Da Silva, which would make Da Silva’s claim valid, and he would be well within is rights to ask for royalties or even damages.

    If Rockstar is guilty of copyright infringement, then they have to pull the game in the interim, pay damages or draw up a contract with Da Silva. Haakman could potentially be in trouble here, because Rockstar could sue him for defrauding them, because surely they would have been under the impression that he holds all the rights to the track.

    Anyway…

    Just because the claimant is from Brazil does not mean that his lawsuit holds less water than if he was a North American. If copyright infringement laws are regarded as universal, then they have to be enforced universally 😛

    Reply

  2. Miklós Szecsei

    October 19, 2010 at 12:43

    I wasn’t implying that because this is happening in Brazil it doesn’t hold water.

    Rockstar has the legal papers behind them for using the Haakman track. Haackman, we can rightly assume, has the rights to use the sample from da Silva, afterall da Silva’s son plays a part in the Haakman track.

    Copyright infringement or not, the requirements of the Brazilian court are insane. Pulling the game from shelves and digital channels all over the world on top of $3000 fine a day? Please.

    Anyway, I’ll keep an eye on this and post an update as soon as more news hits. It’s kind of interesting, in a deliciously scandalous way! 😀

    Reply

  3. Uberutang

    October 19, 2010 at 12:51

    Rockstar should use 10% of the profit from one GTA game, buy a B2 Bomber and a Nuke, and ask Brazil to reconsider…

    Reply

  4. Bobby Kotick for Dummies

    October 19, 2010 at 13:14

    What’s Tuesday without some drama? 😀

    I’m merely hypothesising, but since the Brazilian courts did not deem it to be a frivolous lawsuit, I can only assume that the judge wants to establish if Haackman has all the rights to the track, or that since this was a collaboration that the rights of the work might be shared, therefore, when Haackman allowed the track to be used and da Silva did not profit from it, da Silva has a legitimate case.

    On the other hand, the scenario could be that da Silva waived his rights (a little unlikely since his son is featured on it), and Haakman and Rockstar are in the clear.

    As for the Brazilian Court’s requirements: Those are actually reasonable given similar court cases around the world. Not so long ago, a Dutch court put a 100 000 Euro a day fine on the lads from the Pirate Bay, and the RIAA and their movie counterparts are far more voracious when they take on copyright infringers.

    Reply

  5. Bobby Kotick for Dummies

    October 19, 2010 at 13:16

    Dude.. Brazil.. Hot brown women… Enough Said!

    I would personally kill everyone in the Rockstar office with a pen knife, a few balls of string, and a nail clipper if they nuked Brazil. :ninja:

    Reply

  6. Maxiviper117

    October 19, 2010 at 16:28

    Think Rockstar might win.

    Reply

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