THQ sues Activision Blizzard over box art

THQ sued Activision Blizzard last week, alleging infringement of trade dress and copyrights of the box art of one of their games, namely Baja Edge of Control (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3). Could all be a coincidence but THQ still stands to lose a lot of money if things don’t go their way.

THQ sued Activision Blizzard last week, alleging infringement of trade dress and copyrights. Basically, that means that they think Activision ripped off the box art of one of their games.

The Activision game in question which was developed by Left Field Games, SCORE International Baja 1000 (PS3, Xbox 360, PC, Wii, PS2), does look pretty similar to Baja Edge of Control (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3) by THQ. See for yourself:

Since SCORE International Baja 1000 ships out this week, THQ probably stands to lose quite a bit of money if gamers mistake one game for the other or simply assume that they have identical gameplay besides identical artwork. THQ has asked the courts to delay the release of Activision’s game until changes can be implemented.

News of this lawsuit shouldn’t be a complete surprise since THQ did contact Activision Blizzard earlier this month about the problematic box art. Apparently Blizzard refused to change a thing and now here we are.

We’ll keep you updated on this news as they come.

• Baja – Developer diary video: Physics and suspension
• THQ posts big earnings, bigger losses

Buy: [Baja Edge of Control (PS3, Xbox 360]
Buy [SCORE International Baja 1000 (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii)]