Riot Games Sued Over League Of Legends' Striker Lucian Skin
Former pro soccer star Edgar Davids has won a court case against League of Legends’ Riot Games [...]
Former pro soccer star Edgar Davids has won a court case against League of Legends' Riot Games after he filed a lawsuit that claimed the Striker Lucian skin was directly based off of his likeness.
For League of Legends players who are also fans of professional soccer, the similarities between both the pro player and the Striker Lucian skin might've been readily apparent despite Davids playing a different position than what Striker Lucian's name suggests.
After taking Riot Games to trial over the issue, a Netherlands court produced a verdict in favor of Davids while claiming that there was enough evidence to support the ex-pro's claims. While Riot argued that the similarities weren't as evident as Davids suggested, seeing them side-by-side in a tweet that came out around the time the skin was released certainly brings attention to some distinct similarities between the two.
For all you wondering, Striker Lucian was inspired by soccer pro Edgar Davids~ pic.twitter.com/Jf6nlYVmKW
— Baconhawk🥓🦅 (@missbaconhawk) June 5, 2014
From the picture tweeted above that came from a former Riot Games employee back in 2014, the same year that the skin was released, the likeness between the two is pretty clear. From the hairstyle to the iconic glasses that Davids was known for during his matches, it's clear why this photo was used in the court case against Riot Games as evidence. The similarities are there even without the text that accompanied the tweet where Baconhawk explicitly said that Striker Lucian drew inspiration from Davids.
According to an interim judgement that was released today where court proceedings were detailed, a letter was sent to Riot Games in 2015 calling for the usage of Davids' "portrait" in League to end. Riot Games then issued a defense to the claims in 2016. In their defense, Riot claimed that players would be able to easily distinguish Davids from the Striker Lucian skin, also adding that nothing in the game explicitly refers to Davids.
Interestingly enough, Davids posted about the Striker Lucian skin through his Instagram account back in 2014, though at the time, he didn't seem particularly upset by the comparison.
The judge overseeing the court case has ordered Riot Games to disclose how much revenue has been made through Striker Lucian's sales, though it seems to only take into account sales in the Netherlands at this time. That information will then be used to determine Davids' winnings from the lawsuit.
When asked about the lawsuit, Riot Games declined to comment on the case.
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