Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lawyers

Leisure Suit Larry creator Al Lowe and Replay Games tell VentureBeat they plan on suing Wisecrack Games to shut down a Kickstarter crowdfunding project, saying it infringes on their copyright and misrepresents Lowe's participation. In a separate campaign from Replay's campaign to Make Leisure Suit Larry come again, Wisecarck is seeking to raise $500,000 to create Sam Suede in Undercover Exposure, a revival of a project that Lowe was once a part of before it ran into funding problems. To that end, the page states: "This is not a revival or a remake. It’s a New original game based on the comedic game design by Al Lowe & Ken Wegrzyn." The page includes an image and bio of Lowe, which could certainly lead to the inaccurate impression he is currently directly connected to this fundraiser. "I think the blatant misuse of the Leisure Suit Larry name and copyrighted material shows clear disregard for copyright law," says Replay's Paul Trowe. "To piggyback on someone else’s success is not only rude but also illegal. Those who continue with this will be pursued to the fullest extent of the law. We are suing today." Wisecrack Games responds with the following statement: "Wisecrack Games has not infringed or otherwise violated any rights of Replay Games. Wisecrack’s references to Al Lowe’s accomplishments, including his work on the Leisure Suit Larry series, are truthful, come directly from Mr. Lowe’s website with his permission pursuant to a written agreement, and constitute de minimis and fair uses under applicable law." On a related note, there is a Leisure Suit Larry Team on Sex, Comedy and Kickstarter interview on GamesIndustry International.