A Brazilian Court is calling for Rockstar Games’ popular title Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes from Liberty City to be pulled from shelves and for all sales to be halted. The Associated Press reports that the Expansion pack which includes The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony is under fire for using a song in the game without the consent of the composer.
Synergex, the Brazilian distributor for Episodes from Liberty City, and Rockstar Games could face a fine of $3000 per day if they decide to disobey the order
A statement from the court states that “Bota o Dedinho pro Alto” is used without consent of the artist, an 8 year old boy whose father composed the song. As of right now, Rockstar Games has not been notified of the court’s ruling, but it is only a matter of time until Synergex makes them very aware.
The ruling can be appealed of course, which would save Rockstar a lot of money in the long run. The odds of getting Rockstar to halt sales is asking just a little too much, chances are that future copies of the game will have this song removed. It is highly doubtful that Rockstar would lose much money by taking the song in question out of the game, but as it stands, they could lose a lot of money by not taking it out.
