In a lawsuit filed last Friday, Floris van Pallandt, the creator of the quiz used in the lead-up to last year’s game between Michigan State University and the University of Michigan, which featured an image of Adolf Hitler, two weeks after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, claims the university used his quiz without permission.

Pallandt, who first published the quiz on his YouTube channel “The Quiz Channel,” is suing the MSU Board of Directors for copyright infringement and invasion of privacy, which he said put him in a false light in public.

He is demanding at least $150,000 in damages.

Jeremy Kennedy, Pallandt’s attorney, wrote in the complaint: “This case arises out of Michigan State University’s unauthorized and intentional use of plaintiff’s intellectual property at a sporting event.”

The lawsuit also alleges that after the theft was discovered, attempts were made to damage the reputation of Pallandt and his company, Carilius Media.

This initial broadcast was conducted by the athletic department “without prior permission, approval or license,” Kennedy wrote.

The question itself contained a picture of Hitler and asked about his birthplace, the lawsuit states.

Due to the timing of the broadcast, the question was received predominantly negatively. This then attracted both national and international media attention, the lawsuit states.

When the university commented on the quiz question, its first reaction was to blame Pallandt and his company, “arguing that the use of Hitler in the quiz was the fault of the company that created the quiz,” Kennedy wrote.

Pallandt does not believe the quiz should not have been aired during the game due to the current context, the lawsuit says. Had the university’s athletic department been in touch before the game, he would have created a quiz appropriate for the game, the lawsuit says.

The incident also exposed Palladant and The Quiz Channel to ridicule and caused Palladant significant emotional distress, the lawsuit says.

In addition, the company entered into an agreement with a third party to share the revenue from the quizzes for two years in return for a payment of $135,000.

A clause in that agreement stated: “Plaintiffs (Pallandt and Carilius Media) would not take any action that might impair the value of the revenue stream, nor would Plaintiff allow the value of the revenue stream to be impaired, nor would Plaintiff allow Quiz Channel to be portrayed in a negative light,” Kennedy wrote.

Although this third party has not yet terminated the agreement, Pallandt remains concerned that this could happen, the lawsuit states.

Palladant’s legal counsel was unavailable for comment at this time.

MSU spokesman Mark Bullion said the university had no comment at this time.