These days, Rockstar Games and parent company Take-Two Interactive seem to get more court time that the average NBA team.

Gamasutra is reporting that E.S.S. Entertainment, owners of the Play Pen, a Los Angeles "gentleman's club," filed suit against Rockstar in April 2005 for trademark infringement over the inclusion of a strip bar in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas called the Pig Pen.

At issue was the Pig Pen's similar awning and logo (both pictured) which, like those of the Play Pen, feature the nude silhouette of a female dancer in the stem of the first letter "P". Additionally, the GTA Pig Pen's exterior displayed the words "Totally Nude," a phrase also used by the real-world Play Pen.

AE: Maybe things are different up in L.A. but down here in San Diego, all the strip clubs feature the words "Totally Nude" somewhere on their signs. I only know this because I, um... can see them from the freeway.

Displaying a clear grasp on the concept of parody, Judge Margaret Morrow said in her ruling, "Any visual work that seeks to offer an artistic commentary on a particular subject must use identifiable features of that subject so that the commentary will be understood and appreciated by the consumer."
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