LogInAccording to Dino Patti, the confrontation between him and Arnt Jensen is heading to court.
UPD: Playdead has confirmed to 80 Level that they have already filed a lawsuit against Dino Patti.
Original article: The dispute between Dino Patti and Arnt Jensen, Co-Founders of Limbo and Inside developer Playdead, is about to shift from an internet quarrel to a full-blown legal battle. According to Patti, Playdead's lawyers are now actually preparing to take the matter to court and sue the Executive Producer of one of the most iconic indie horror games for using a publicly available image from said game in a LinkedIn post.
Playdead
For context, the confrontation between Playdead's Co-Founders was first spotlighted in March, when Patti revealed he had been receiving "legal love letters" from Jensen for nine years, the most recent of which demanded 500,000 DKK – around $77,000 – for using an image from Limbo in a LinkedIn post offering a behind-the-scenes look at the game.
But as unpleasant as disputes over what does and doesn't qualify as fair use are, the "cease and desist" part of the letter wasn't the worst.
What drew more negative press was the section stating that Patti is "falsely giving the impression that you played a significant role, including a creative role, in the development of the game," thus giving "a false and misleading impression to business partners and to the game industry as you were not actually an essential part of the creative development of Limbo," a part many saw as nothing more than a spiteful attack on the ex-developer.
Apparently, the clash is now destined to be resolved by an actual judge, with Patti claiming that Playdead's lawyers plan to move forward with the lawsuit and that a trial will happen sooner or later. Speaking to Arkaden, he said he's never been sued before, and this will be the first time he and Jensen face off in a legal setting.
While court proceedings are usually stressful and draining for defendants, Patti actually seems somewhat optimistic about the ordeal, expressing hope that the lawsuit will bring everything into the open and allow him to finally speak more freely and openly about the situation without legal restrictions.
Addressing why the studio seems so determined to target him, Patti reiterated his belief that Playdead is trying to erase him from the history of the company itself, Limbo, and Inside, pointing out that he was originally credited as Executive Producer on the first page of the credits, but in subsequent re-releases after he left, his name was moved lower down the list – something he views as a deliberate attempt to unperson him.
"The cool thing is that journalists like [Arkaden] can request insight into what's happening – and I won't hold back – I'll legally have to release all the images and materials about what's happened," commented Patti.
Please note that so far, only one side of the conflict has addressed the alleged upcoming lawsuit, while Playdead has remained silent and has yet to share its perspective. We have reached out to the studio for their response and will update the article once we hear back.
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