Opinion ID: 400140
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Creation and Promotion of the Accused Work

Text: 18 Ed Averett, an independent contractor, created K. C. Munchkin for North American. He had previously developed approximately twenty-one video games, including other maze-chase games. He and Mr. Staup, who is in charge of North American's home video game development, first viewed PAC-MAN in an airport arcade. Later, after discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the PAC-MAN game and its increasing popularity, they decided to commence development of a modified version to add to North American's Odyssey line of home video games. Mr. Averett also played PAC-MAN at least once before beginning work on K. C. Munchkin. 19 Mr. Staup and Mr. Averett agreed, however, that the PAC-MAN game, as is, could become popular as a home video game, but only if marketed under the PAC-MAN name. Thus, as Mr. Averett worked on K. C. Munchkin, North American sought to obtain from Midway a license under the PAC-MAN copyright and trademark. Mr. Staup later learned that the license was not available and so informed Mr. Averett. At that time, Mr. Averett had not yet completed K. C. Munchkin. 20 When Mr. Averett finished the project, North American examined the game and concluded that it was totally different from PAC-MAN. To avoid any potential claim of confusion, however, Mr. Averett was told to make further changes in the game characters. As a result, the color of the gobbler was changed from yellow to its present bluish color. North American also adopted the dissimilar name K. C. Munchkin and issued internal instructions not to refer to PAC-MAN in promoting K. C. Munchkin. 21 An independent retailer in the Chicago area nonetheless ran advertisements in the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune, describing K. C. Munchkin as a Pac-Man type game and as challenging as Pac-Man. Another printed advertisement referred to K. C. Munchkin as a PAC-MAN game. Plaintiffs also sent investigators to various stores to purchase a K. C. Munchkin game. In response to specific inquiries, sales persons in two stores, one being the aforementioned independent retailer, described the Odyssey game as like PAC-MAN and as Odyssey's PAC-MAN. 22