It appears that Ubisoft’s legal team contacted what seemed to be an unaware website owner regarding a post that one of his site’s registered forum users made, depicting Jade Raymond (the games producer) and the Assassin’s Creed trademark in a way that the legal representative stated was “extremely offensive” and “pornographic”.

The site owner, upon receiving the email from the legal department, posted it on the forum and made the registered users aware of the issue. While their response was less than sympathetic, the image appears to have been removed. The owner also stated that he would be shutting down the forum.

The legal response, in its entirety can be viewed below.

VIA EXPRESS MAIL AND EMAIL
Attn: Richard Kyanka
webmaster@somethingawful.com
RE: Infringement of ASSASSIN’S CREED Mark and Jade Raymond’s Personal, Privacy, and Publicity Rights

Dear Mr. Kyanka:

We are counsel to Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. (“Ubisoft”), publisher of the popular video game ASSASSIN’S CREED and employer of Ms. Jade Raymond (“Ms. Raymond”). Ubisoft is also the owner of the following U.S. trademark applications for the ASSASSIN’S CREED mark (the “Mark”): Serial No. 78850944; Serial No. 78866696; and Serial No. 78850968. In consequence of Ubisoft’s extensive efforts and expenditures, substantial goodwill has been built up for Ubisoft and the products and services sold under the Mark, and the ASSASSIN’S CREED game is one of the most widely anticipated games of the year.

Ubisoft has recently learned that the extremely offensive pornographic image (the “Image”) accessible at http://sabretooth.mirror.waffleimag…dd47ceb2a5.jpg, a copy of which is attached hereto, is being used on your website located at http://www.somethingawful.com and/or other related sites, including, but not limited to, http://forums.somethingawful.com (collectively, the “Site”). Such Image and misuse of the ASSASSIN’S CREED mark constitute trademark infringement, dilution, and unfair competition in violation of common law trademark rights, the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§1125(a) and 1125(c), and state law.

Furthermore, the Image’s blatant, vile, and unauthorized misappropriation of Ms. Raymond’s name and likeness, and your conduct in using the Image on your Site, have caused immeasurable harm to Ms. Raymond’s reputation and career, and constitute an egregious infringement of Ms. Raymond’s personal rights and privacy rights. The Image and your conduct also constitute an egregious unauthorized commercial exploitation of Ms. Raymond’s rights of publicity in violation of, without limitation, her common law rights of publicity and California Civil Code §3344, which provides in relevant part:

“Any person who knowingly uses another’s name, .., photograph, or likeness, in any manner, on or in products, merchandise, or goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting purchases of, products, merchandise, goods or services, without such person’s prior consent…shall be liable for any damages sustained by the person or persons injured as a result thereof.”

It is well established that a person who commercially exploits the name or likeness of someone without their consent is liable for all of the damages caused thereby. Additionally, the Image and your conduct in using the Image on the Site constitute unfair business practices and false advertising in violation of the California Business and Professions Code; intentional infliction of emotional distress; a violation of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1125(a); and harassment, which is a criminal offense.

Please also note that any failure to comply with applicable privacy laws may result in direct action against you by the Federal Trade Commission, in addition to other litigation.

Ubisoft hereby demands that you immediately: (1) permanently remove the Image from your Site, databases and servers and prevent any further uploading or display thereof; (2) permanently cease and desist all unauthorized use and hosting of images using the ASSASSIN’S CREED mark and Ms. Raymond’s name and/or likeness; (3) provide us with the name and contact information of the person who originally created and/or posted the Image; and (4) complete, execute, and return to me the enclosed Declaration by November 16, 2007 to confirm that you are complying with Ubisoft’s demand.

While Ubisoft hopes to resolve this matter quickly and without resort to further legal action, Ubisoft reserves all rights to seek appropriate legal relief, including attorneys’ fees, injunctive relief, statutory damages, costs, and enhanced damages.

Sincerely,

David Anderson
for Nixon Peabody LLP

DECLARATION

1. I am the owner of the website located at www.somethingawful.com.

2. I have permanently removed the image that was previously accessible at http://sabretooth.mirror.waffleimag…bdd47ceb2a5.jpg from www.somethingawful.com, forums.somethingawful.com, all other related sites, and all databases and servers under my ownership and/or control, and have implemented measures to prevent any further uploading or display thereof.

3. I have permanently ceased all unauthorized use and hosting of images using the ASSASSIN’S CREED mark and Jade Raymond’s name and/or likeness.

4. I have provided Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. with the name and contact information of the person who originally created and/or posted the Image.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746, I declare under the penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.

Executed on ____________, 2007 ________________________

Name: _______________________
Title: __­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________

Dave Anderson
Nixon Peabody LLP
555 West 5th Street, 46th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(t) 213-629-6095
(f) 866-532-8491
dlanderson@nixonpeabody.com

Assassin’s Creed is one of the few “next-gen” games we’ll be experiencing this year – whatever that means, seems to be the buzz word these days. Coming from the makers of the classic Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, it has lofty expectations to live up to.

The game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the player taking the role of a secret Assassin, Altair. Altair means “the flying thingy” in Arabic, where the word “thingy” should be replaced with “one” to avoid any childish visions. This flying bloke, or Altair as he will henceforth be referred to, has the objective to slay individuals who promote hostilities. What hostilities? The Third Crusade, young one. Pay attention.

The game promises to contain historically accurate cities and interactive environments. You’ll be able to climb any building you fancy, buildings complete with historically, accurately, coloredly bricks. You are but an archaic Spider-Man (minus the red and blue tights) making your way through cities dressed in an assassin’s hawk outfit.

Yet, there is something on top of all this “gloriousness” that Ubisoft Montreal has kept swept under their grandmother’s carpet; a “sci-fi” twist that is suggested in the game footage. But should we give a monkey’s (or a rat’s ass as you American’s like to say) about this twist, and could it potentially spoil the game’s integrity?

An Assassin fallen from grace, Altair must prove himself to be a worthy stealth killer by assassinating nine historical figures who are propagating the Crusades. The Crusades? How interesting. Please tell us more, you cry. Well, if I must.

It says here on Wikipedia, that the Third Crusade is also known as the King’s Crusade. Good website that Wikipedia is, and if you type in my name there, it’ll come up with a “List of Winniepeggers”. Now, I don’t know what they are exactly, but they sound amusing, and I’m vaguely proud to be associated with them. Anyway, the Third Crusade, also known as the King’s Crusade, saw European leaders trying to reconquer the holy land from Saladin.

Who’s this Saladin fellow? Did he make salad? Actually he should properly be introduced as “Salah al-Dīn Yusuf ibn Ayyub” better known to his friends by his hip short rapper name “Saladin”. He was a Muslim leader from Iraq who led the resistance against the European Crusaders from infiltrating Jerusalem, which Saladin had captured years before.

Well, little Saladin was defeated by Richard I of England at the end of 1191, and the two came to an agreement over Jerusalem in 1192, where it would remain in Muslim hands but was open to Christian pilgrimages. This was a time when the opposing rulers had large mutual respect for one another, so much so that Saladin offered his personal physician to an injured RIchard I, sending replacement horses, providing fresh fruit, and even giving the King snow to keep his drinks cold. Ah those were the days. Fast forward to 2007, and we’re stuck with a pleb who calls an air strike against an adversary for hiding “invisible weaponry amongst oil reserves. That’s the end of our history lesson, so we must move on.

As Altair, the bird man, you have the power to impact events in the year 1191 AD, by tracking down and assassinating key figures on both sides of the conflict. Three cities will be your playground: Jerusalem, Acre, and Damascus. But why is Altair called the flying thingy? Does he have wings, or a nifty glider to glide him from place to place, or perhaps even a funky colored hot-air balloon. No, he has no such transport, though at times, a wee pony will be gracious enough to carry him on her back. What he does have are some amazing abilities in free-running.

You might have seen “free-running” at the beginning of Casino Royale, or even better you might have watched Top Gear where James May raced a couple of free-runners through Liverpool in a Peugeot 207 – the runners won of course. Yes, it’s that jumpy jumpy, climby climby stuff. To escape from the deed you have done, you must climb the buildings, jump over the roof tops from beam to beam, and generally act like a flying fox floating from place to place with your nimble feet.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

You must agree that this sounds beyond splendid. Playing an Assassin in the Third Crusade, targeting individuals from both sides of the conflict whilst skipping from location to location, sounds like a veritable ball. Some might say that Jerusalem is a bit of a touchy subject, but how many World War II games have we seen in the past years, glorifying the Americans, and vilifying the Germans as Nazi encrusted robots? Moreover, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare takes place in a fictitious adaptation of the present day Middle East. Thus I think, in comparison, 816 years is plenty of time between now and The Crusades for it to be a safe and welcome change from other games.

There must be a catch, right? A catch maybe not, but there is a twist – a sci-fi twist. In interviews and game footage there has been a suggestion of “something else” in the Assassin’s Creed universe. There are visible effects, such as electrical interference encroaching across the screen like a TV with bad reception, and character’s outlines flashing with a blue glow when you approach them. Some have theorized that the historical setting may be a simulation, or even the “genetic memory” of present day people trying to discover information about past conflicts. This was put into the minds of those who frequent the sticky web that is the Internet by one of the character actors for the game, Kristen Bell. She said in an interview with IGN:

“It’s actually really interesting to me. It’s sort of based on the research that’s sort of happening now, about the fact that your genes might be able to hold memory…And it’s about this science company trying to, Matrix-style, go into people’s brains and find out an ancestor who used to be an assassin, and sort of locate who that person is.”

Well since then, the game’s producer, the stunningly gorgeous Jade Raymond (I wonder if she’s an unlockable skin in the game…hmmm), has stated that it’s not like the Matrix, and Altair is not a time traveller. Yet, in a gameplay demo at X06 a few little snippets seemed to support the genetic memory theory, with the words “memories/01”, “hard drive” and “access your genetic memory” appearing after Altair had died. Furthermore, in the background of the official website and in the “making of videos” are visible DNA strand patterns. So, the plot thickens for Assassin’s Creed, the supposed historically accurate game set in 1191AD. What’s clear is that the developers don’t want to talk about any of this yet, but have tried to make it certain that this is not a gimmick.

Now this worries me, because if this twist is an integral part of the game, then it’s not really set in 1191AD, and you can’t really get immersed into the atmosphere of Jerusalem and the Crusades.

What really gets on mon wick as I watch game footage, are these electrical glitches that interfere with the screen, which are said to have roles in the gameplay – such as being able to change the camera angle in real-time cutscenes. Even worse are the electrical readouts and outlines around the many characters within these cities, that apparently identify who you can interact with. Still, these effects are far from subtle.

It seems such a shame that Ubisoft Montreal have gone to all the trouble to accurately create these holy cities, from the architecture, to the clothes of the characters, to then just stab the player’s eyes with futuristic effects. Yes it’s a game, but games are meant to engage and engross and make you suspend disbelief. These “glitches” act as a knocking down of the fourth wall, taking you out of the immediate action and shouting at you “There’s a twist, don’t forget the twist young Assassin, oooh glitchy glitchy this is not as it seems, everything’s all Matrixy”. I’m all for twists and turns, but it fails to be a twist when the game tells you there’s a twist every five seconds.

Rumour goes that this sci-fi twist is actually revealed in the first 10minutes of the game, and that Gamesradar, the cunning foxettes that they are, have already worked it out by reading a chapter from the Assassin’s Creed comic. Let’s be honest, one is too cowardly to spoil the game by reading a piddly comic, and I doubt you, fine reader, would like the game experience to be spoiled like a freshly killed badger being run over by a two seater Cadillac (I mean I could have had that for my dinner!), either.

So, all in all, I could be wrong. This twist could in fact enrich the gameplay, supplement your interest in the game, and further engross you in the story.  All the while the game’s plot will play with your little mind, confusing your thoughts like a Bishop confuses a choir boy when he leads him to the confession box.

Anyway, the long and short of it is young hobbit, is that there’s something else in this game, something bigger, more clever, and we all know it’s coming (well, you do now) and I for one am not convinced that it will help this game. In fact, right at this moment, I think that this twist will detract from the gameplay.

Hot off the presses, here’s an interview with Ubisoft’s Jade Raymond. The video includes some new Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 footage of the game, as well as insight into the game’s “twist” at the 3:15 mark. Have at it after the jump. (Spoiler Warning)

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]