Todd McFarlanes lawsuit

[tony2074]

hey,

read in wizard (that'll teach me!) that McFarlane recently had a lawsuit settled against a former nhl player. It didn't really expand on it a great deal, just wondering if anyone could fill me in on it. reasons for it etc, what is was over that kind of thing.

thnaks

[diablo7]

mcfarlane was being sued because he used the hockey players name and i want to say likeness for a mobster called tony twist...the player sued him because he said that people were associating him with the character and he was losing endorsements and such...i'm pretty sure that's the gist of it...this has been going on for quite sometime...

[Chiasm]

It was funny because Tony Twist the hockey player was a goon whose only talent was as a hockey enforcer. He only played when it was time to go deliver a beating to someone on the other team. And he's upset because Tony Twist the comic book character was a goon who liked to hurt people. Sounds to me like it was a case where the truth hurts.

[Erik Larsen]

mcfarlane was being sued because he used the hockey players name and i want to say likeness for a mobster called tony twist...the player sued him because he said that people were associating him with the character and he was losing endorsements and such...i'm pretty sure that's the gist of it...this has been going on for quite sometime...

It wasn't his likeness--the two look nothing alike--and Tony Twist didn't lose any endorsements--that was entirely trumped up.

[diablo7]

thanks for clearing that up erik...it was a while since i origianally heard it so i guess i thought it was his likeness too...and i did remember right about the endorsements :)...one for 2's not too bad...

[tony2074]

wow, that is so lame. someone was money grabbing weren't they.

thanks guys, appreciated.

[DonC]

wow, that is so lame. someone was money grabbing weren't they.

thanks guys, appreciated.


I agree, McFarlane got screwed. Like Erik said, the character and the person were nothing alike. The thing is, McFarlane told Wizard magazine that he took the name from Tony Twist. I believe that's what led to the lawsuit, but I could be mistaken. Had he not said anything who knows what would have happened.

[xarathos]

Certainly, Hockey Players would never hurt anyone.:evilsmile

[BloodRedSandman]

mcfarlane was being sued because he used the hockey players name and i want to say likeness for a mobster called tony twist...the player sued him because he said that people were associating him with the character and he was losing endorsements and such...i'm pretty sure that's the gist of it...this has been going on for quite sometime...

LOL! That funny. Ha Ha Ha!

Did McFarlane make any Tony Twist (Mobster) figures? He should send the hockey player one of them as a out of court settlement.


On a serious note, I am really not happy how every one seems to be wanting to grab the cash where they can.
Like what ever happened to Characters, Names and Event are fictional ; Any likeness is purely coinsidental?

[ghostrider666]

LOL! That funny. Ha Ha Ha!

Did McFarlane make any Tony Twist (Mobster) figures? He should send the hockey player one of them as a out of court settlement.


No, there were never any Tony Twist figures made. He was a minor character (& a minor NHL player). Twist wasnt the only hockey player's name used by Mac. There were also a few others. They were much more common names though. If i remember correctly there was aslo a French name.
Its a case of everything thats wrong with America's legal system. Twist's career was all but over wheb he filed the suit. I thing he played about 1/2 a season after. He was not the type of player who was ever going to get endorcements, except maybe a couple $100 gigs local in St. Louis. Either way the use of "his" name wouldnt have hurt him in the least.

While Im no fan of Todd Mac, he really got screwed over big time by this.

[Ryan Day]

The amount the court awarded Twist was pretty ridiculous, but the verdict wasn't.

McFarlane based the character on Twist. He told everyone he based the character on Twist. And he arguably promoted the book to people who would pick up the reference:


Twist introduced evidence suggesting that in marketing Spawn products, McFarlane directly targeted hockey fans -- Twist's primary fan base -- by producing and licensing Spawn logo hockey pucks, hockey jerseys and toy zambonis. On cross-examination, McFarlane admitted that on one occasion defendants sponsored "Spawn Night" at a minor league hockey game, where McFarlane personally appeared and distributed Spawn products, including products containing the "Tony Twist" character. Another "Spawn Night" was planned to take place at a subsequent NHL game, but the event never occurred.

You can read the whole decision here (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=mo&vol=/supreme/072003/&invol=60729_103).

You can't legally base fictional characters on real people without their consent. If you do - and of course, everyone does - you should keep it to yourself.

[heavysoul]

I briefly read through that decision... including the bit citing the endorsement deal the real life Twist claims to have lost due to the use of his name in the comic. I don't understand how that award was decided upon, but it's insane. It's not as if Spawn has made every penny it has made off any sort of association with hockey. I collect trades only and I'm not a huge hockey fan. I would never have made the association between the two. I can see this guy getting something out of it just not what that site claims the award is.

Wow!

[The Punished]

Karma caught up with Todd McFarlane.