Wrestler Maxx Payne Sues Videogame Maker

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Retired World Championship Wrestling professional Maxx Payne filed a $10 million lawsuit against a group of video software developers for allegedly stealing his persona to create the game "Max Payne." The lawsuit was filed last week in U.S. District Court against Rockstar Games Inc., 3D Realms Entertainment, Gathering of Developers and Remedy Entertainment Ltd. "I left wrestling to come home to Utah and be with my family and I find myself in the biggest battle of my life — to save my identity," said the ex-fighter, whose real name is Darryl Peterson. "They stole something from me that I'm not going to give up."

News source: Yahoo! News

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#1 macrosslover on 26 Jul 2003 - 20:23

OMG yeah he so famous i've never heard of him

...give me a F#king break Max Payne has been out for so long it's unbelievable. the concept of the first game was out for a bit, if he had started his suit then that would be one thing but oh god no, he waits till it gets popular and they do a sequel.

but let's see here Max Payne...Maxx Payne, notice any difference??

wrestler...ex-cop who loves guns

i hate lawsuit happy people.

#2 divertom15 on 26 Jul 2003 - 20:27

No the video game video game does NOT have anything to do with professoonal westling stupid you can tell that right off by looking at the box. 2 HES GOT A GUN westlers ive never seen them with a gun.

Wait your protedting your identity well then i hope your identity doesnt happen to be going after the people that killed your family like you do in the game.

give me a break its not enough that this guy made a lot of money westling he has to go sue video game makers to get even more

well here goes max payne 2

#3 kev64 on 26 Jul 2003 - 20:29

QUOTE

to save my identity

Which is Darryl Peterson so shut up you ****.

#4 BeLGaRaTh on 26 Jul 2003 - 20:57

LOL ... only in America ... If he was that concerned about 'his identity' why didnt he do something about it 2 years ago when the game first came out. Hell to make it easier, why not when it was rereleased on console, or even when it was finally re-rereleased on budget for said consoles and PC.

#5 nonick on 26 Jul 2003 - 20:58

its just a fast way of making money, so what

#6 WishX on 26 Jul 2003 - 20:59

Its simple. They'll settle out of court for an undisclosed sum and the wrestler will get a small percentage of total sales. The video game maker will keep the title, the wrestler will get a cut and everyone will be happy.

...or so says my Magic 8 Ball.

#7 glazzz on 26 Jul 2003 - 21:11

so did he copyright the name "Maxx Payne" ?

#8 [EvilBeAr] on 26 Jul 2003 - 21:27

this is a joke right?

#9 Filicide on 26 Jul 2003 - 22:05

What a ****ing prick, that is pathetic.

(3 replies) #10 Wickedkitten on 26 Jul 2003 - 22:33

in professional wrestling, the wrestlers very seldom have rights to their names so if anyone was going to sue it would be the person in charge of WCW, not that jackass

#10.1 LordLOC on 26 Jul 2003 - 22:42

Bigtime wreslters, such as Hulk Hogan, Sting, Ric Flair etc have the rights to their names, and even some smaller wrestlers do. Also, WCW no longer exists so I don't think they would be sueing anyone

#10.2 morphen on 27 Jul 2003 - 07:26

QUOTE (#10.1)

OMG! he should sue sting,the singer....
and maybe the Police too ;P

American celebrities as so lawsuit-happy...makes me wanna puke

#10.3 devilotX on 28 Jul 2003 - 21:31

I remember in an interview with Sting the Wrestler he stated that he owned the name "Sting" and had an agreement with sting the singer where as long as the singer doesn't wrestle there would be no issues with the name.

#11 uniacid on 26 Jul 2003 - 22:33

rofl another big crock of **** in america

, I've never heard of this maxx payne rofl

#12 EnisDonKing_ on 26 Jul 2003 - 23:03

nice try to get some free money, aye?

#13 quick on 27 Jul 2003 - 00:07

what a fn retard... good luck buddy! Haha

#14 corrosive23 on 27 Jul 2003 - 00:16

He actually had that name 4 years before the game ever came out.

#15 fahad on 27 Jul 2003 - 00:27

My real name is Duke Nukem

#16 ynkephnx on 27 Jul 2003 - 00:41

didn't even know there was a wrestler named maxx payne... probably why he is suing, to get money and name recognition...

#17 arpad on 27 Jul 2003 - 02:08

no sympathy here.

#18 eldryne on 27 Jul 2003 - 02:15

For those people here who have never heard of this wrestler, don't forget to wear the shoe on the other foot - it's quite possible that not everybody follows the gaming world, and that he had no idea about the game until now. Whether or not the lawsuit is justified or not, it certainly helps to look at an issue from all the sides that you possibly can.

#19 manwohat on 27 Jul 2003 - 02:52

I haven't even heard of the guy before...exactly what identity he is trying to protect is the real question here. I hope he loses.

#20 Solarix on 27 Jul 2003 - 03:25

there is a difference between Maxx Payne and Max Payne, SPELLING!!!! moron cant tell the difference obviously

#21 raekwon on 27 Jul 2003 - 06:00

i hope he wins.

#22 Repute on 27 Jul 2003 - 07:00

i hope he loses.

#23 morphen on 27 Jul 2003 - 07:29

hope he has to kneal down and suck MAX Paynes dick,and then max payne shoots he's head of with double sawdoff shotguns,like in the mods

"to save my identity",so he has lost he's identity?

so be it,he's broke

#24 hobsgrg on 27 Jul 2003 - 08:11

sigh this is ridiculous hope it gets thrown out of court

#25 Zeni on 27 Jul 2003 - 08:30

This just reminds me of how the new TNN ( TV Channel ) was becoming Spike TV, then they had to postpone the name because Spike Lee says they never conferred with him about using the name..... like what the hell, there's more than 1 Spike in existance, just the same old bullshiat.

(1 reply) #26 Saadu on 27 Jul 2003 - 09:55

Hi, My name is Gordon Freeman and i am traumatized by valve for using my name in their stuuuuuuuped game half life. I need like 10 million dollars to get rid of my nightmares

#26.1 DOCa Cola on 27 Jul 2003 - 13:33

ROFL

#27 Laser_iCE on 27 Jul 2003 - 10:27

I'd just like to say that Max Pain (yes, spelt like that) is used very regularly in the tense of, well, "maximum pain". It was only natural that a game of this calibre have something to do with the pain that is felt in the game (I'm trying to set the mood, bear with me guys). So this means that the creators had no intentions of imitating the wrestler, yet giving the gamer the idea of "Wow, let's get prepared for some hard gaming" which is what this old game has delivered... I'm a huge fan of the game personally ,and the guy has to be a complete and utter idiot to think he'll win this lawsuit!

#28 wildliquid on 27 Jul 2003 - 11:22

news just in wrestler looses court case

#29 stezo2k on 27 Jul 2003 - 13:01

this is sad, i hope the wrestler did loose the case, i love max payne

#30 HaLoHaLo on 27 Jul 2003 - 13:31

welcome to america

#31 MrDennis89 on 27 Jul 2003 - 13:49

Bah, what's new, another 'famous' person suing somebody because they 'took' his/her name or whatever...

#32 DrunkenMaster on 27 Jul 2003 - 14:26

He does show up here: http://www.twnpnews.com/information/names1.shtml between such famous names as ... The Master Blaster, Master of Pain, Maximillion Moves, Mean Mark Callous. I've looked through the list, an I can only say I recognize more than a few names: Ken Shamrock, IRS, Jeff Jarrett, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and on but the others I have no clue who they are.

Intersting thing is though is that he spell his nickname w/ 2 X's: Maxx Payne.

So he apparently shows up in the wrestling news. But when you look here: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=maxx+payne+wrestler&btnG=Google+Search
he apparently does not exist.

And using his real name (there are no images of him wrestling:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf-8&q=Darryl+Peterson&btnG=Google+Search

(1 reply) #33 doum88 on 27 Jul 2003 - 15:00

look a this guy website : http://www.maxxpayne.com

poor little boy and in is bio we see that he change is name when it was with WWF "man mountain rock" woohooo what a looser

Last edited by 32557 on 27 Jul 2003 - 15:13

#33.1 five04 on 28 Jul 2003 - 03:21

anybody notice the font he used to spell his name? MAXX PAYNE. looks like he stole the font used for the game. rockstar should countersue his ass for using their font.

#34 Cara on 27 Jul 2003 - 19:44

Something to note...every TV Show, Movie, Game or anything like that all has a great line at the end of them...

"Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental."

He has no case, Max Payne in the game was not a wrestler nor does the character resemble him in any way, also the spelling is different so I don't see how he can even claim 'Stolen Identity.'

#35 Ernie on 27 Jul 2003 - 22:49

Sue for 'Stolen Identity'. Should I laugh or cry? It's (for me) just SO typical american act.
Well, he just CAN'T be serious
1. The game was releast 2 years ago
2. 'Max Pain' - 'Maxx Pain'. Does it seem equally? Not a chance in hell
3. He is pobably just PR horny or something.
4. He probably need some money.

This is just bull**** from A to Z (or A to Å as I would normally say it)

BTW: He is a lucky guy. I don't live in america. If I had he wouldn't be alive. (Yes, I'm serious)

Last edited by 33368 on 27 Jul 2003 - 23:06

#36 SiXXGuNNZ on 28 Jul 2003 - 02:42

I watched wrestling from like 83-97 and WCW was my league of choice, never once did I see this guy wrestle...

#37 chaoscomic on 28 Jul 2003 - 03:02

When I read the headline I was like "here we go again"
we are clogging up the court with more nonsense, and bogus lawsuits
If the persona of Max Payne, That of Being a Cop who has brush cut hair and wears a leather jacket and dress pants, who then comes home to find that his family has been killed by a bunch Drugies, Whom then in turn Joins the DEA and Goes on a One man Killing spree To right the wrong that happened to his family.

Then yeah I could see his point, heck if he was just a cop that looked even kinda
similar and there was some real connection like he was in the paper for taking on the mob or something. Then hell yeah he would be due some serious payback.

This guy is a Fat, long haired, and has a Hard Rock persona. none of which remotly relates to the game of anything in the game. The game is not about some wrestler who never got a shot and saw stardom.

My final assesment is that not only should the judge not throw it out but he should allow him to make a complete fool of himself on Court TV and then when he loses have him reimberse Rock Star Games for all leagal fees.

(1 reply) #38 Banjo on 28 Jul 2003 - 05:05

*Including but not limited to the names
Maxx Payne
Max Payne
Maxx Pain
Max Pain
Maximum Payne
Maximus Paynimus
Paxx Mayne
Lucifer Payne
and
Payne Killer

#38.1 TC17 on 30 Jul 2003 - 04:01

I noticed that list of names at the bottom of his webpage too. How stupid. He's just rattling off a bunch of similar names and claiming he owns them, and even goes as far to says thats not all of them "but not limited to".

Sounds like he took one too many blows to the head.

#39 Gary_Player on 28 Jul 2003 - 05:38

You gotta b fkin kidding me

#40 njlouch on 28 Jul 2003 - 12:55

My name is Nik, so I am gonna sur anyone calledNik for being called Nik. I'll invite my lawyer Nik to oversee this.

Sheesh, guy needs some money?

Anyhow, what it will boil down to is if there are:

Similarities of character, likeness etc.
Possible confusion of who is who.

Neither of these are likely.

#41 BroChaos on 28 Jul 2003 - 16:00

this guy is an idiot. what a piece of trash. get a real job, and stop trying to steal other peoples hard earned money.

"Any resemblance to any persons living or dead is purely coincidental." that's what i was gonna say...

#42 BeLGaRaTh on 28 Jul 2003 - 16:57

My other persona is called Microsoft ... wonder if there is anyone I can sue over that name ...

no-one comes to mind, oh well, could have had a few quid on my hands there ....

#43 C_Guy on 28 Jul 2003 - 18:39

People's names are not automatically copyrighted. Unless this guy has registered a copyright for the name Max Payne, he has absolutely no case. This is not identity theft, it is just a wimpy attempt to flush out some cash.

Good luck with that....

#44 altontowersmania on 28 Jul 2003 - 22:34

all i can say is, max payne the game is quality, maxx payne the wrestler IS NOT quality! wat a bell end, like other ppl have said, a name is a name, u cant copy right that! my name is ian, so why dont i try sueing every other ian out there!

brain dead!

#45 ShoutBoy on 29 Jul 2003 - 16:56

so i was thinking. this guy lives not too far from here. i wonder....

also...

this is totally reminding me about that southpark episode "s e x u a l h a r r a s a m e n t p a n d a"-- a definite classic and one of my favorites.

#46 TC17 on 30 Jul 2003 - 03:53

I've followed wrestling for a long time (although not 100%), but have *never* seen this so called wrestler before.

#47 obsolete_power on 30 Jul 2003 - 23:38

Maybe he needed a quick sum of money for lipo-suction. $10 million should do the full job.
What a f*cking ass wipe! I've been following wrestling for many years both from WCW and WWE and never once heard of this dude!

Last edited by 22518 on 30 Jul 2003 - 23:45

#48 PcBoi on 31 Jul 2003 - 07:52

Well I have watched wrestling for a very long time....and the guy does exist.

(whoever said they watched wcw from 83-97 made me giggle...wcw didn't exist before 1991...it was nwa then)

anyways I dont remember exactly when the guy wrestled...but he did. and he sucked ass.

I hope he looses as well.

The thing is that he could own the copyright to the name by now. I know that Crockett didn't copy right all of his guys, especially the lesser guys...and ownership has gone through two people (ted turner, Vince Mcmahon) since then.

Either way hope he looses..

Cheers neowinians

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