Justin Bieber is facing a lawsuit by a smartphone application maker for trying to stop them selling a game based on him.
The makers of a game called ‘Joustin Beaver’ want a judge to rule that they are allowed to market it under the free speech rule of the First Amendment.
The legal action follows moves by the teen sensation to order the Canadian company to stop distributing the game.
The app ‘Joustin Beaver’ was designed for Android phones.
It portrays a buck-toothed beaver with a floppy hairstyle floating on a log down a river and has to knock ‘Phot-Hogs’ that are attempting to take his photograph into the river with his lance.
The beaver also signs ‘Otter-graphs’ and has to dodge the ‘whirlpool of success,’ which will lead to the beaver spinning out of control while attempting to navigate the river.
The makers, RC3, admit that the game is a parody of Biebers’ life but deny there is any infringement of his intellectual property rights or trademark.
Lawyers for the 17-year-old singer sent the company a cease and desist letter after being made aware of the game.
According to the lawsuit, the two parties began negotiations but they ended without any result, the Daily Mail reported.
According to the lawsuit, the two parties began negotiations but they ended without any result, the Daily Mail reported.
“In an effort to comment on the Defendant’s life, the Plaintiff, RC3, developed the aforementioned App entitled ‘Joustin’ Beaver’. The App, a video game, is a parody of the commercial success of the Defendant and any celebrity,” the lawsuit stated.