[cod] Reality or Publicity Stunt?

[James Landi]

it gets more interesting

Now that former Infinity Ward leadership Vince Zampella and Jason West 
have filed a lawsuit against Activision (those papers were filed 
yesterday -- get the breakdown here 
<http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/702970/Infinity-Wards-Jason-West-And-Vince-Zampella-File-Lawsuit-Against-Activision-.html>) 
the legal fight is on. I've since reviewed an Activision internal legal 
memo from a source close to the company that details what documents 
Activision is searching for related to the current litigation with 
Zampella and West.
Much of what Activision's looking for is standard for a legal dispute 
related to, in Activision's words, "breach of contract" and 
"insubordination." Activision also believes they're legally in the clear.
"The Dispute involves West and Zampella's management of IW, as well as 
the development and marketing of /Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2/ 
("/MW2/"), and potential subsequent games developed by IW," reads the 
memo sent internally before the lawsuit was filed. "Activision believes 
that it has done nothing wrong and intends to vigorously defend any 
claims asserted by West and Zampella."
Below are some excerpts from a list of documents that Activision is 
looking for. Note the last one:

    * "Documents regarding past, current or future IW projects,
      including but not limited to any and all businesses analyses of
      future projects (e.g. /Modern Warfare 3/)"
    * "Documents regarding any potential 'spin out' of IW, including but
      not limited to any communications with IW employees, West or
      Zampella regarding forming a new studio independent of Activision"
    * "Documents regarding West and Zampella's communications with
      Activision's competitors, including but not limited to Electronic
      Arts"

/Modern Warfare 3/ likely isn't in development yet, but it's not 
surprising to see that it was already on everyone's radar. The memo 
seems to indicate that Activision may have suspected West and Zampella 
were looking outside the company.
More details as they become available.

You would think that either Jason, Vince or Activision would either know 
what's in their contract, or when you acquire a company you aquire their 
tech and IP.....

It will be interesting to see who has more egg on their face

Jim Landi
Rudedog
FPSadmin.com
Microsoft MVP, Games for Windows 2009. 2010