Lindsay Lohan Loses GTA V Privacy Case Appeal

Image copyright Rockstar Games

The actress Lindsay Lohan has failed in her latest attempt to sue the maker of the video game Grand Theft Auto V.

Six judges at New York state's Court of Appeals unanimously rejected her privacy case after dismissing a claim that one of the title's characters was based on her.

Instead, the judges said, the in-game "actress slash singer" merely resembled a generic young woman.

The case dates back to 2014 when Ms Lohan first sued Rockstar Games.

She claimed at the time that the character of Lacey Jones not only looked like her, but also had a similar sounding voice and wore clothes that resembled her own clothing line.

Neither Ms Lohan nor Rockstar's owner, Take-Two Interactive, has commented following the latest ruling.

More than 275 million copies of the Grand Theft Auto video game have been sold since its launch in September 2013.

Despite being more than four years old, the title topped the UK games sales charts for the 15th time earlier this month, thanks to its enduring appeal and the continued release of new content.

By contrast, over the same period, Ms Lohan's own career has waned. A recurring role in the British TV series Sick Note was one of her highest profile recent jobs, and earlier this month she announced she had become a spokeswoman for a law website.

The appeal judges had accepted her claim that a computer game character could constitute a "portrait", which supported her invasion of privacy claim.

However, they decided that in this case the likeness was not strong enough.

"[The] artistic renderings are indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman... that is not recognisable as plaintiff," Judge Eugene Fahey wrote in his ruling.

The court also rejected a claim that another GTA V character was based on the reality TV star Karen Gravano on similar grounds.