Last year, photographer Judy A. Juracek filed a lawsuit against Capcom, alleging that the publisher used at least 80 of her copyrighted photos to create textures in franchises like Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Attorneys for Juracek have now put out a statement that the situation has been “amicably resolved” by Capcom, and the lawsuit will no longer be moving forward. Unfortunately, exact details about the resolution are unclear, but it seems that both parties are happy with the results and can now move on.
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“Capcom and Judy Juracek have amicably resolved their dispute concerningthe alleged use of Ms. Juracek’s photos in Capcom’s games. A dismissalwas filed on February 7, 2022 with the District of Connecticut to endthe lawsuit,” a statement from her attorneys reads.
In her original lawsuit, Juracek pointed to Capcom’s 2020 data breach as evidence that the company was using images from her 1996 book Surfaces. Juracek has licensed out her images to customers over the years, but she had no working relationship with Capcom. The data breach revealed internal artwork from Capcom’s games, and some hacked files had the same names as those on the CD-ROM that came with Surfaces. In her lawsuit filing, Juracek pointed to more than 200 times that Capcom allegedly used images without her consent. For example, there were times that an image of shattered glass from Capcom’s games looked incredibly close to an image of shattered glass in Surfaces.
With the lawsuit settled, it will be interesting to see if Capcom develops any kind of official working relationship with Juracek. Capcom’s games are known for offering stunning worlds that look realistic and believable, and the textures in Juracek’s photographs could help the publisher in the future. Of course, Capcom has not revealed any official plans for the future of Resident Evil or Devil May Cry, so fans will have to wait and see what happens!
Are you happy that Capcom and Juracek were able to resolve the issue? What do you want to see next for the Resident Evil series? Let usknow in the comments orshare your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
[H/T: Polygon]
