EA Sports appears to be weathering the storm of the NFL lockout and has fought back vigorously against the suits by former NCAA football and basketball players.
But now, computer programer Robin Antonick has filed a suit against Electronic Arts alleging he is owed billions of dollars because the software used in the Madden football game series is a product of software Antonick developed.
Trip Hawkins, original creator of the Madden football game series, said Antonick is exaggerating his owed profits because there were a number of people who worked on the project.
EA has moved to dismiss the claim as “utterly without merit.” EA’s motion mostly rests on their assertion that Antonick’s claim is about “fifteen years to late.” So long as Antonick can prove the first Madden game was original expression, he may have a shot at have this classified as copyright infringement.
Also, a class-action lawsuit has been filed in the Northern District of California against EA for allegedly violating anti-trust and Consumer protection laws. The claim asserts that by signing exclusive contracts with the NFL, NFLPA, NCAA, and AFL, EA essentially created a monopoly on football games.
Consumers who own a Madden NFL, NCAA Football, or Arena Football League games released any time between January 1, 2005 to the present, should have been notified of the class-action suit. In order to be excluded, the game owners must write a letter by the June 25th deadline stating their intention to not be included in the class. If owners do not send such a letter, they will be added to the class by default.
