Pawtucket-based Hasbro Inc., maker of the world’s
best-selling board game Monopoly, filed a lawsuit seeking to
block sales of what it called the “highly offensive” knockoff
Ghettopoly.
The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island
after the Ghettopoly creator refused to stop selling the game,
the company said in a statement. Monopoly was created by Parker
Brothers in 1935.
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David Chang of St. Mary’s, Pa., created a game in
which players buy stolen property, build crack houses, pay
protection fees and get carjacked. Game pieces include a gun and
marijuana leaf. Hasbro says the game uses the basic layout of
Monopoly, without Boardwalk and Park Place, and without
permission.
“Hasbro will not tolerate Mr. Chang’s unlawful use of its
intellectual property to sell the reprehensible Ghettopoly game,” Frank Bifulco, president of Hasbro’s U.S. Games, said in a statement.
An e-mail message to Chang’s customer service address
prompted an automatic reply that said Yahoo.com shut down his
site Oct. 13 and he isn’t taking new orders. Yahoo sent him an e-
mail that he was violating the terms of service, and Chang’s
reply said he would “use all legal resources” against Yahoo.
Civil rights groups asked retailers such as Urban Outfitters
Inc. to stop selling Ghettopoly or face a boycott. The
Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the chain stopped selling the
board game on Oct. 10 after protesters picketed its headquarters
and stores in Philadelphia and Chicago.
An official with Philadelphia-based Urban Outfitters
couldn’t immediately be reached for comment after regular
business hours.
Critics say the game is racist for its negative images of
black culture and makes light of problems of drugs, poverty and
violence. The game sells for $29.95 and says it’s geared toward ages 13 to adult.
On his Web site, Chang said he is “exercising his
constitutional right to free speech, and freedom of expression.”
He has pledged to bring future games with names like Hoodopoly,
Hiphopopoly, Thugopoly and Redneckopoly.
“It is the rightful opinion of some that Ghettopoly is
offensive as it is the rightful opinion of others that Ghettopoly
is not offensive,” the Web site says.
Hasbro said the game violates its trademarks and copyrights to Monopoly and “have caused and
continue to cause irreparable injury to the value and goodwill”
of Monopoly.
Hasbro, the world’s second-biggest toy company behind Barbie
doll maker Mattel Inc., reported $2.8 billion in sales last year
from products including Harry Potter toys, Pokemon and Playskool
brands, and board games such as Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and
Clue.
Bloomberg News
