Schwarzenegger Sues Over Likeness on Slot Machines

Arnold Schwarzenegger is suing one of the nation’s leading makers of slot machines for $20 million for allegedly making and marketing gambling products that feature his voice and likeness as the “Terminator.”

The lawsuit against International Game Technology contends the Reno company never sought the permission of the action actor before making its “Terminator”-esque slot machines, video gaming machines or advertising the products in catalogs and at a convention earlier this year.

A spokesman for the company, however, said International Game Technology has been licensed by Canal-Plus in France and Creative Licensing Corp. in Los Angeles to market a “Terminator” slot machine.

“Since we are very protective of our own property rights, we are extremely cautious of the property rights of others,” said IGT spokesman Rick Sorensen. The 20-year-old company, with more than $1 billion in annual sales, makes traditional slot machines, video poker and video slot machines.

According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sept. 7, Schwarzenegger doesn’t associate himself with products he doesn’t support or believe in. He is “particularly circumspect to avoid using his name, likeness or image for certain industries such as gambling.”

The actor does not want his image to become overexposed, the suit said. And although Schwarzenegger has done commercials endorsing the national railway system in Austria, a language school in Brazil and DirectTV in Japan, his representatives said he has refused hundreds of offers to lend his name or likeness to pitch products in the United States.

“He’s turned down offers as high as $20 million in the United States,” Schwarzenegger’s attorney Marty Singer said Monday. “So if someone uses his likeness for a product without his authorization, then he should get paid a fee commensurate to what he has previously been offered.”

While a “Terminator” slot machine “might have been in development, it was never released,” Sorensen said.

Still, similar to the character he made famous, Schwarzenegger intends to punish alleged violators.

“Mr. Schwarzenegger is very vigilant in protecting his rights, including his intellectual property rights and [he] vigorously pursues those who violate them,” according to a statement by his publicist.