
Leisure Suit Larry creator wants “infringing” Kickstarter campaign taken down - ukdm
http://venturebeat.com/2012/05/30/leisure-suit-larry-creator-wants-infringing-kickstarter-campaign-taken-down-exclusive/
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randomdrake
It does appear that Lowe is credited and mentioned many times, along with the
LSL title. I'm curious, however, about this:

 _But Lowe and Trowe, who successfully raised more than $600,000 on
Kickstarter to make the nostalgia game Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded, say that
Lowe is not working on the project and they have misrepresented him and used
his image (pictured right) without permission._

However, one of the pledge bonuses is as follows:

 _AL LOWE EDITION: Exclusive Dinner and a Show hosted by Al Lowe & Ken
Wegrzyn: You’ll attend a jazz performance to see Al Lowe perform and play
saxophone with his local jazz band MOJO and then whisked away to dinner with
Al and Ken. Includes the $250 tier reward. (Travel to Seattle not included.)_

Did they really just promise dinner with a guy without even asking him first
or is there more to this story?

[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1787675232/sam-
suedetm-i...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1787675232/sam-suedetm-in-
undercover-exposure)

~~~
pyre
It's possible that Wegrzyn figured that he and the 'winner' could go to a
public performance of Lowe's band, and that he could convince Lowe to come to
dinner with them afterwards.

~~~
randomdrake
If it's costing $10,000, there better be more than just hope of convincing
someone the prize will come true. If this really is the case, then they are
clearly abusing and using Lowe's name and should be held accountable.

------
JoshTriplett
Key detail: this does not refer to the successful Kickstarter campaign by the
original creators of LSL
([http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1451923705/make-
leisure-...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1451923705/make-leisure-suit-
larry-come-again)), but to an entirely different Kickstarter campaign that
just started ([http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1787675232/sam-
suedetm-i...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1787675232/sam-suedetm-in-
undercover-exposure)).

~~~
lawnchair_larry
Thanks, this was confusing. I knew about the recent LSL campaign. It looks
like this Sam Suede campaign probably saw how successful the LSL creator's
kickstarter campaign was and wanted to cash in.

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sageikosa
I was fairly certain that the infringing material was Sam Suede, which was the
Wisecrack game...not Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, which is the Replay game.

[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1787675232/sam-
suedetm-i...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1787675232/sam-suedetm-in-
undercover-exposure?ref=live)

[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leisuresuitlarry/make-
le...](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leisuresuitlarry/make-leisure-suit-
larry-come-again?ref=live)

------
pyre
1\. Isn't 'misuse' of the Leisure Suit Larry name a violation of trademark
law, not copyright?

2\. How does implying that Lowe is working on the project a violation of IP
rights at all? I would think that it would fall under defamation or fraud.

~~~
Zimahl
1\. Depends how it is used. Pepsi can use the word 'Coke' in their ads if it
is in respect to the product. I imagine saying your game is an adult
comedy/sex game similar to Leisure Suit Larry isn't infringing. If the game
were named Leisure Suit Laurence then that is definitely infringing due to
brand confusion.

2\. I have no clue so I'm not going to bother guessing. :)

------
cantankerous
It could set a nasty precedent where people sue Kickstarter projects that get
a sizable enough pot to grab. Knockoff games happen pretty often. I can't
really see where the LSL guys are going with this aside from a simple cash
grab...though I am being pretty cynical about it.

~~~
Tyrannosaurs
That makes no sense.

If they wanted the money you sue once the money has been raised, you don't
have the project taken down.

------
ldargin
I just don't see a legal basis for this, considering that Lowe did work on the
game. It just sounds like he no longer has a financial stake in it, and no
longer wants to indirectly help the project.

