Games company, MicroProse Inc, has filed suit against Activision Inc and The Avalon Hill Game Co to protect its rights over the Sid Meier’s Civilization and Civilization computer games. The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, asserts claims of false advertising, unfair competition, trademark infringement, and unfair business practices as a result of Activision’s recent announcement of plans to develop and publish Civilization computer games under a purported licensing agreement with Avalon Hill. The lawsuit challenges Avalon Hill’s ownership of trademark rights in the Civilization name and charges that Activision and Avalon Hill are wrongfully attempting to trade on the goodwill and consumer recognition developed by MicroProse in the Civilization mark for computer games. To date, MicroProse’s Civilization computer game products have sold approaching two million games worldwide.
