A lawsuit filed last Friday by Floris van Pallandt, the creator of the quiz used during the pregame period of the Michigan State University and University of Michigan game last year that depicted an image of Adolf Hitler two weeks after the Israel-Hamas war began, claims the university used his quiz without permission.
Pallandt, who first posted the quiz on his Youtube channel, The Quiz Channel, is suing MSU's Board of Trustees for copyright infringement and an invasion of privacy which placed him in a false light to the public.
He is seeking at least $150,000 in damages.
Jeremy Kennedy, attorney for Pallandt, wrote in the lawsuit, "This case arises out of Michigan State University’s unauthorized and intentional use of Plaintiffs' intellectual property at a sporting event."
The lawsuit also claims that once this theft was discovered attempts were then made to damage the reputation of Pallandt and his company, Carilius Media.
This initial broadcast was made by the athletic department, "without prior permission, authorization, or licensing," Kennedy wrote.
The question itself included an image of Hitler and was asking about his place of birth, the lawsuit said.
Due to the timing of this broadcast, the question was regarded with mostly negative attention. This then garnered media attention both nationally and internationally, the lawsuit states.
Once the university chose to comment on the quiz question, its first response was to place blame on Pallandt and his company, "stating that the use of Hitler in the quiz was the fault of the company who created the quiz," Kennedy wrote.
Pallandt believes the quiz should not have been broadcast at the game due to the context of current events, the lawsuits states. The lawsuit states if the university’s athletic department had reached out prior to the game, he would have created a quiz appropriate for the game.
This incident also subjected Palladant and The Quiz Channel to ridicule and caused Palladant significant emotional distress, the lawsuit states.
Additionally, the company entered into an agreement with a third party which assigned two years of the revenue stream of quizzes to said party for a payment of $135,000.
A clause in this agreement said that, "Plaintiffs (Pallandt and Carilius Media) would not take any action that could impair the value of the revenue stream, nor would Plaintiff allow the value of the revenue stream to be impaired, nor would Plaintiff allow the Quiz Channel to be cast in a negative light," Kennedy wrote.
Although this third party has not yet canceled the agreement, Pallandt remains concerned that this may occur, the lawsuit states.
Palladant's legal counsel was not available for comment at this time.
MSU spokesperson Mark Bullion said that the university has no comment at this time.
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