Intellectual Property Dispute Could Delay Gran Turismo 5

Kris Erickson • Aug 23, 2010 • Comments ()

Can someone own the rights to visual features in the urban landscape such as flags, sculptures and emblems? Apparently in Siena, Italy somebody does. And they are upset that their intellectual property was captured by the meticulous environmental artists at Polyphony Digital for its upcoming game, Gran Turismo 5. Just as we were beginning to salivate for the game's release On November 3rd, this dispute threatens to push back release of the game, as artists may have to go through and remove visual features from the Siena track, or face handing out a stiff financial settlement.

The source of the dispute is a famous horse race that takes place in the Tuscan city. Piazza del Campo is a historic public space in Tuscany, Italy, which is used to host the Palio di Siena, a horse race held summer, in which ten horses and riders represent ten districts of the city, each of which has its own historic flag and emblem. The Consortium for the Protection of the Palio owns the rights to reproduce those characteristic emblems, and they were reportedly not contacted for permission to use this artwork in the game.

Consortium spokesperson Anna Carli told journalists that the organization would be seeking legal injunction against Sony if the company did not arrange for removal or the artwork from the game.

"You can not use images of Contrade, in this case the flags without authorization. Given the relevance of the game with no history and references to our party, in particular with the use of images of flags of the Contrade, we would not otherwise authorize the use." She said in a statement.

Hopefully the two sides can come to an agreement that doesn't involve removal of the Siena track, which looks awesome (see video below).