NovaLogic, the developer behind the famous Delta Force FPS series has filed a lawsuit against Activision over the unsolicited use of the Delta Force logo in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
In the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, NovaLogic seeks damages and an injunction for trademark infringement against Activision. After stating that Activision has continued to use the Delta Force trademark despite multiple warnings from NovaLogic, the company noted that Activision has also copied the Delta Force logo with minor modifications.
"The infringing mark's lightning rod is horizontal rather than vertical and a portion of the delta sign is set behind the dagger blade rather than being superimposed," reads the complaint.
"Despite Activision's irrefutable knowledge of NovaLogic's superior trademark rights, Activision created knockoff marks that are nearly identical [to] NovaLogic's design and word marks. Activision then shamelessly inserted these infringing marks throughout its competing first person military adventure video games."
The complaint then notes that Activision has licensed the name and mark out to hardware manufacturers Turtle Beach and Microsoft, and the BradyGames division of Penguin Books without NovaLogic's permissions -- all of whom are included in the lawsuit.
A key point in NovaLogic’s case is the fact that the Delta Force moniker is not associated with the U.S. army or any of its divisions and teams.
"There is no unit of the U.S. Army called Delta Force," the court filing notes, "There is a branch of the Army's Special Operations known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment Delta ('1st SF-ODD'). The U.S. Army officially denies that any unit called Delta Force exists and does not claim ownership to either the Delta Force name or the logo."
"Although there is much lore surrounding special operation units, only because of the Delta Force series does the general public identify the logo with any ancillary existing military unit," NovaLogic stressed.