Legal: Does This Japanese Video-Game Character Remind You of Anyone?

Legal

Does This Japanese Video-Game Character Remind You of Anyone?

According to the Legal Reader, former Deee-Lite singer Lady Miss Kier (a.k.a. Kierin Kirby) recently lost a lawsuit with Sega Japan over a character in the popular Japanese video game Space Channel 5. Kier claims that the company approached her in 2000 about using her song "Groove Is In The Heart" to help promote the game:

Kirby was not interested and declined to cut a deal or give Sega permission to use her songs, likeness, or anything else. Subsequently, Kirby discovered that Sega had released the game and that it included a dancing female character named "Ulala" who Kirby felt resembled her Lady Miss Kier character in several respects. Among other "signature" characteristics, Lady Miss Kier was known for saying "ooh la la," as she does while introducing herself in the Groove is in the Heart video. Kirby thought Sega's use of "Ulala" was an obvious rip-off of her signature "ooh la la," and noted several other apparent similarities between Ulala and Lady Miss Kier.

Kirby filed suit in California, charging misapporpriation of likeness; she lost the case yesterday, in part because Sega argued that Ulala's creators had never heard of Deee-Lite (snap!). Not only will she have to pay $608,000 for Sega's legal fees, but she'll have to live with the knowledge that millions of Japanese kids think she's color-blind.

Any other video game-rock star look-alikes? We're starting to confuse Brandon Flowers for Wario, but maybe that's just us.

"Lady Miss Kier" Hammered With Opponent's Attorney's Fees [The Legal Reader]

2:32 PM on Tue Sep 26 2006
By Brian Raftery
454 views
11 comments

Comments

by lazyron at 02:14 PM on 09/26/06
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Get over it Lady Miss Kier. There are a million little raver girls who look just like that.
by Mo! at 02:32 PM on 09/26/06
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Pac Man resembles Pete Doherty: he eats pills and gets chased by demons; sometimes, with a bigger dosage he chases the demons.

Plus Pac-Man can't speak coherent English.
by Miss Tanya at 02:48 PM on 09/26/06
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There are still raver girls?
by SupraCute at 02:52 PM on 09/26/06
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I bet there is a raver girl out there who goes by "Miss Appropriation," or better yet "Miss Feasance"
by Steely1 at 04:19 PM on 09/26/06
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Space Channel 5! I fondly remember playing that on the Dreamcast. That game was both dee-lovely and dee-licious...
by PurduePaul at 04:39 PM on 09/26/06
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So let me get this right, a has been raver singer sued a video game company for likness rights....wow...someone must not be getting their royalty checks anymore
by SlimShadenfruede at 05:38 PM on 09/26/06
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someone's probably having sex with that character in SimRave2™ right now.
by twigenstein at 09:29 PM on 09/26/06
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Maybe France is going to sue Sega for the use of "Ooh la la" next.
by AcidReign at 12:43 AM on 09/27/06
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.....Mmmm. She's Hott! I'd think Capcom would do well to cast her as Roll! Megaman would have a hellofa distraction, to be sure!
by BillyK at 04:02 PM on 09/28/06
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Deee-Lite never wrote any of their material anyway. It was nothing but stolen samples and sound effects. This ruling is what is known as "Irony."
by Bon Jour, Pee Wee at 04:46 PM on 10/02/06
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They wrote their own stuff. Sure they sampled enough, but who else but a bunch of stoned club kids could write 'I had a dream, I was falling through a hole in the ozone layer'.

Or my personal favorite

'Someone took a bath, with Mr. Bubble, middle name, must be trouble'.