Capcom has “amicably resolved” a lawsuit that alleged the company had taken images from a photographer and used them in Resident Evil 4 without permission.
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In 2021, scene designer and photographer Judy Juracek filed a lawsuit against Capcom, claiming that it had taken photos from her book called “Surfaces” and used them in Resident Evil 4 without permission.
Now, Juracek’s legal represntatives, St. Onge Steward Johnston & Reeds LLC, has shared (via Polygon) that Capcom and Juracek have “amicably resolved their dispute concerning the alleged use of Ms. Juracek’s photos in Capcom’s games”.
Following the resolution, a move to dismiss the lawsuit was filed on Monday (February 7).
Juracek’s book in question, Surfaces, was released around nine years before Resident Evil 4. In court documents attached to the lawsuit, comparison images between shots within Surfaces and Resident Evil 4 suggest that Juracek’s images may have been used without permission in the horror game. The lawsuit also alleged that one of Juracek’s images was used in the logo of Resident Evil.
“Given the wide amount of copying of unique photographs not available elsewhere, it is apparent that [Capcom] had access to the book or CD-ROM, or both,” claimed the lawsuit.
As well as looking visually similar, one of the texture files in Resident Evil 4 even had the same name as it did on Juracek’s CD. This was discovered when Capcom was victim to a significant cyberattack in November 2020, which compromised around 350,000 items of personal data.
Despite the similarities, no further details have been attached in St Onge’s statement, so it’s unclear what agreement Juracek and Capcom reached.
In other news, the popularity of Lost Ark is causing Steam servers to buckle before it’s even launched. For anyone interested in trying out the MMO, here’s when it’s available to play.
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