Grand Theft Auto is a series of video games, set in fictional cities, heavily modeled on American cities. In the game you have to steal cars and complete a number of missions. The series is critically acclaimed and has more than 124 million copies.
The latest in the GTA series, Grand Theft Auto 5 – soon to be released – may become the centre of a trademark conflict between Rockstar Games, the maker of the GTA game and Speedo, the well known swimwear manufacturer.
In the trailer of GTA5 a person soars by on a jet ski. On the side of the jet ski the word “Speedophile 2000” is printed. Although this word has a clear meaning in urban slang, namely someone who likes going really fast, Speedo is not amused. Particularly the fact that the word “Speedo” is in a different font than “phile” , makes the association with Speedo even more apparent.
The question is whether this can constitute as a trademark infringement. And, more important, if Speedo should do something about it. What do you think?
Watch the trailer, and watch out around 0:19:
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