TimeGate Studios has sued Paramount over allegations that the media giant is trying to steal the name Section 8.
Section 8 is a new property being developed by TimeGate, described as “an intense first-person shooter that gives players unprecedented strategic control over the battlefield, employing tactical assets and on-demand vehicle deliveries to dynamically alter the flow of combat.” As members of Earth’s elite 8th Armored Infantry, players are thrust into the middle of a growing insurrection among its colonies, taking on the suicidal missions that no other unit can handle with advanced power armor and a complete disregard for personal safety.
TimeGate and Paramount had engaged in meetings to discuss the game and “potential business ventures” regarding Section 8 but TimeGate claims a meeting in which Paramount personnel were scheduled to actually play the game was canceled by the company’s vice president of interactive development. Three days later things became litigation-worthy when Paramount Digital Entertainment issued a press release saying it had partnered with a “foreign entity” for its latest project: An interactive web series called Section 8.
Paramount described its version of Section 8 as one in which “the audience engages specific characters and participates in plot development.” TimeGate says it is “essentially… nothing more than an interactive game” and has sued Paramount in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. This is actually the second lawsuit filed by TimeGate over the Section 8 name; in 2007, the studio sued ABC over the network’s planned use of Section 8 as the title for a new television show. That case was settled in April 2008.
Section 8 is currently in development for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 and in scheduled for release near the end of 2009.
Source: Team Xbox
