Dave MIrra demanda a Acclaim¡¡¡por 21 millones de $$$

BMX Star Sues Acclaim Over ‘XXX’ Game
By Mark Harrington
STAFF WRITER
February 13, 2003
Professional bicycle racer Dave Mirra last week filed suit against Acclaim Entertainment Inc. charging the Glen Cove video-game publisher improperly used his name and image to promote a game with a racy title.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Central Islip, seeks at least $21 million in damages and injunctions to stop Acclaim from promoting and advertising Mirra's name and likeness with the controversial title, BMX XXX. Mirra and Acclaim had a promotional deal dating to 2001.
The suit alleges breach of contract, unfair competition, injury to reputation, false advertising and invasion of privacy. It is the latest blow to both Acclaim and BMX XXX, which several large retailers declined to stock during the holiday season because of nudity and other adult content. Acclaim edited out some of that material before BMX XXX hit the market, and the game failed to sell as well as expected.
Acclaim last month laid off staff at its Glen Cove headquarters, reporting lower revenue and mounting losses. It announced a plan to further cut staff, drop losing titles and reduce expenses.
Acclaim has shipped more than 3 million titles under the Dave Mirra brand since 2001. The latest, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 3, shipped in November. The company has not announced future titles, and spokesman Alan Lewis wouldn't say if more are forthcoming. Lewis called the suit "baseless," and said Acclaim "will defend ourselves vigorously against it."
The relationship between the two parties began to show signs of strain last May. After agreeing to allow his name to be used on the BMX XXX game, believing it would feature humorous adult content like the movie 'Airplane,' Mirra later learned "Acclaim changed the concept of the game to become more sexually explicit and pornographic," court papers say.
In May, Mirra "expressed grave concern over his association with a now pornographic XXX Game, since it would have a negative impact on his name," and the parties agreed to "disassociate" Mirra, according to the suit.
Since the release last year, Acclaim and its business partners have used Mirra's name in BMX XXX print ads and promotions, according to the suit, which says Mirra has made "numerous requests" to stop the practice.