Donkey Kong champion loses legal battle over likeness

Billy Mitchell loses his lawsuit against Cartoon Network.

Former Donkey Kong world record holder Billy Mitchell has lost a legal battle with Cartoon Network over the channel's alleged use of his likeness.

Mitchell claimed a cartoon character depicting him as a bearded, floating head stole his likeness, however, New Jersey federal district judge Anne Thompson has thrown out the case.

The character in question is Garrett Bobby Ferguson from the "Regular Show," a disembodied head with arms who cheats to win at arcade games.

The judge dismissed the claim stating that: "The television character does not match the plaintiff in appearance: GBF appears as a non-human creature, a giant floating head with no body from outer space, while Plaintiff is a human being.

"And when GBF loses his title, the character literally explodes, unlike Plaintiff," Thompson added.

The network is protected by the First Amendment which grants freedom of speech as well as the right to parody.

As well as a record score for Donkey Kong, Mitchell was also the first person to achieve a perfect Pac-Man score and pass 1 million points on Ms. Pac-Man.

He also featured in 2007 documentary "The King of Kong," which told the story of another player's attempt to beat his high score.