Feds Seek to Stop Distribution of "Ghettopoly" Game - - trademark infringement
Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 10:15AM
TheSpook
Justice Department lawyers are seeking judicial permission to destroy
about 63,000 copies of the controversial "Ghettopoly" board game, which
has been criticized as a racist takeoff on the classic "Monopoly."
Earlier this year, Customs and Border Protection agents in Tacoma,
Washington seized five separate containers filled with "Ghettopoly"
from a ship that had arrived from China. According to the below
forfeiture request, the board games were seized by federal agents
because they violated a trademark held by Hasbro, which produces
"Monopoly." The knockoff game, which retails for $39.95, describes
"elements of the game" as, "buying stolen properties, pimpin hoes,
building crack houses and projects, paying protection fees and getting
car jacked." In "Ghettopoly," players land on properties like Chico's
Bodega and Smitty's XXX Peep Show, instead of Boardwalk or Marvin
Gardens, and the game pieces include a pimp and a machine gun. When
"Ghettopoly" debuted last year, black leaders nationwide decried it as
racist and criticized game creator David Chang, who has defended his
creation, saying it "draws on stereotypes not as a means to degrade,
but as a medium to bring together in laughter." Hasbro, of course, did
not get the joke and last October filed a federal copyright lawsuit,
which is pending in U.S. District Court in Providence, Rhode Island.
Chang has about 30 days to file a claim challenging Uncle Sam's bid to
destroy the seized "Ghettopoly" stash, which has a street value of
nearly $2.5 million. (5 pages). [more]
Pictured above: Cover of Ghettopoly game . On sale for $13.99 at Ghettopoly.com. The KKK website is [here]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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