Former NFL Player Files Appeal In Case Against EA

07 Jul 2010 at 20:13:18 by Peter Parrish

Former American football player Jim Brown has filed an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, hoping to overturn a decision from September 2009 which dismissed his improper use of likeness lawsuit against EA.

In the original case, Brown argued that EA's inclusion of a player very similar to himself in the Madden NFL series' historic 1965 Cleveland Browns and 'All Browns' teams constituted an unauthorised use of his image. Normally, licensing deals would be signed with player associations to allow the use of player likenesses (and EA has such a deal with the NFL for Madden,) but as Brown noted at the time, no such union bodies existed while he was a player.

Judge Florence Marie-Cooper (who has since died) ruled that EA was exercising its First Amendment rights, stating the games were "akin to an expressive painting that depicts celebrity athletes of past and present in a realistic sporting environment." She also ruled that players were unlikely to conclude that Brown had endorsed Madden NFL.

In Brown's appeal, he argues that he was never given the chance to properly demonstrate that his trademark rights were violated by EA. It's an interesting case, as Brown's image rights would appear to fall outside of the NFL deal held by EA. However, despite the implied inclusion of Brown in the game, he is never named.

This is all a far cry from the days when Sensible World of Soccer would merrily use the names of every single professional soccer player without impunity.

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