Feds Seek To Destroy "Ghettopoly" by Outsiders at 01:44:32 AM on 12/29/2004 The Smoking Gun website has reported that the Justice Department in request from Hasbro has seized over 63,000 copies of the illegal "Monopoly" game. 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." Check out The Smoking Gun website for the complete report and the 5 pages of complaint that Hasbro filed against the "Ghettopoly" board game company. http://americandreamcomics.com/index.php?catid=115&itemid=5502 Just thought this was a funny and bizzare story
I don't know if this is empowerment, or what, but a website that bills itself as "The Style of Africa" has copies for $150 apiece. http://www.modaafrik.com/product_info.php?products_id=51 The site with the domain name of the game claims to have copies at a more modest price. Finally, a list of other variants Hasbro can go after http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist.php3?action=view&listid=4094
Hasbro has no case it is a parody and protected under US law. By the way, bet ya did not know that Monopoly was invented in Russia to make fun of our capitalist society, and Hasbro stole the game and copyright from them. Oh, the irony. DD
Couldn't Hasbro claim that it damages their good name or something to that degree? http://www.ghettopoly.com/ $40 a piece I don't know if this is the 'real' ghettopoly or not
Is that really the case? This is all I could find: Although Monopoly is frequently said to have been invented by Charles Darrow in 1935, its origins actually go back to 1904, when the Georgist Lizzie Magie, (that is, a supporter of political economist Henry George), patented a game called "The Landlord's Game" with the object of demonstrating how rents enrich property owners and impoverish tenants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly_(board_game) The real story of Monopoly is, of course, more complicated. From its inception near the end of the 19th century, the creation of the game spanned more than 30 years. From that first spark of inspiration in the head of one Elizabeth Magie, the game has been connected to the political and economic issues of the times. http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/monopoly/
