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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...1022164918&e=3
NEW YORK (AFP) - Hasbro, the manufacturer of Monopoly, said Wednesday it had filed suit against the creator of "Ghettopoly" -- a spoof version of the celebrated board game that stereotypes gangsta rap culture.
"Hasbro will not tolerate unlawful use of its intellectual property to sell the reprehensible 'Ghettopoly' game," Frank Bifulco, president of Hasbro's US Games said in a statement.
Beyond it's name and board layout, "Ghettopoly" bears little resemblance to the Hasbro family favourite.
Playing pieces include a pimp and an Uzi submachine gun, the hottest property on the board is "Smitty's XXX Peep Show," and one game card directs you to collect 50 dollars "from each playa" for successfully addicting your neighbourhood to crack cocaine.
Played like Monopoly, the aim is to become the richest player by stealing, cheating and fencing stolen properties.
The Hasbro suit targets "Ghettopoly" creator David Chang, 28, whose family immigrated to the United States from Taiwan when he was eight years old.
"Mr. Chang has chosen to ignore our cease and desist demands, and therefore, we are taking the necessary legal action," Bifulco said.
In the complaint Hasbro stated that Chang violated Hasbro's trademark rights and copyrights to the Monopoly game.
It also cites unlawful acts which "have caused and continue to cause irreparable injury to the value and goodwill of the Monopoly real estate trading game trademarks, as well as to Hasbro's business, goodwill and reputation."
A hot seller on the Internet, the game proved equally popular when it was temporarily stocked by national clothing chain Urban Outfitters last month.
But not everyone was amused and black leaders organised angry protests outside stores in Philadelphia, Chicago and Seattle, saying the game poked fun at serious social problems like drug addiction and poverty.
The protests prompted Urban Outfitters to pull the game from its shelves. Chang acknowledges the stereotyping charge but insists that the accusations of racism miss the point.
"Ghettopoly is controversial because it's both fun and real life," Chang says on his website www.ghettopoly.com.
"It draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring people together in laughter," he argues. "If we can't laugh at ourselves and how we each utilise the various stereotypes, then we'll continue to live in blame and bitterness."
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...1022164918&e=3
NEW YORK (AFP) - Hasbro, the manufacturer of Monopoly, said Wednesday it had filed suit against the creator of "Ghettopoly" -- a spoof version of the celebrated board game that stereotypes gangsta rap culture.
"Hasbro will not tolerate unlawful use of its intellectual property to sell the reprehensible 'Ghettopoly' game," Frank Bifulco, president of Hasbro's US Games said in a statement.
Beyond it's name and board layout, "Ghettopoly" bears little resemblance to the Hasbro family favourite.
Playing pieces include a pimp and an Uzi submachine gun, the hottest property on the board is "Smitty's XXX Peep Show," and one game card directs you to collect 50 dollars "from each playa" for successfully addicting your neighbourhood to crack cocaine.
Played like Monopoly, the aim is to become the richest player by stealing, cheating and fencing stolen properties.
The Hasbro suit targets "Ghettopoly" creator David Chang, 28, whose family immigrated to the United States from Taiwan when he was eight years old.
"Mr. Chang has chosen to ignore our cease and desist demands, and therefore, we are taking the necessary legal action," Bifulco said.
In the complaint Hasbro stated that Chang violated Hasbro's trademark rights and copyrights to the Monopoly game.
It also cites unlawful acts which "have caused and continue to cause irreparable injury to the value and goodwill of the Monopoly real estate trading game trademarks, as well as to Hasbro's business, goodwill and reputation."
A hot seller on the Internet, the game proved equally popular when it was temporarily stocked by national clothing chain Urban Outfitters last month.
But not everyone was amused and black leaders organised angry protests outside stores in Philadelphia, Chicago and Seattle, saying the game poked fun at serious social problems like drug addiction and poverty.
The protests prompted Urban Outfitters to pull the game from its shelves. Chang acknowledges the stereotyping charge but insists that the accusations of racism miss the point.
"Ghettopoly is controversial because it's both fun and real life," Chang says on his website www.ghettopoly.com.
"It draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade, but as a medium to bring people together in laughter," he argues. "If we can't laugh at ourselves and how we each utilise the various stereotypes, then we'll continue to live in blame and bitterness."
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