14 DAY TRIAL // A lawyer has revealed that one of the most recognizable fans of the Cleveland Browns, who has had his likeness used in Madden 09 without his explicit permission, will resolve a suit he has filed against publisher Electronic Arts in the coming weeks. It's not clear whether he has simply withdrawn his legal action or whether he has reached a deal with Electronic Arts and he will be compensated for the use of his image.
John Thompson, the fan in question, is known as “Big Dawg” because of his size and because of the dog face mask and cap that he wears to the game played by the Cleveland Browns for the last 25 years.
The man was outraged when he saw that a fan closely resembling him appeared in Madden 09 and he requested both damages of 25,000 dollars and for Electronic Arts to cease using his image in the football simulation videogame. The first usage of the dog masked fan in a Madden game was in 2005 and EA never requested Jack Thompson's permission. The company has not offered official comments related to the case and to the way it uses the image of fans of football teams in their videogames.
Madden, perhaps being the most important sporting franchise that Electronic Arts owns, has been one of the series most linked to law suits until now. Jim Brown, a retired NFL athlete, sued Electronic Arts because it used his image without proper compensation but a judge threw out the legal action, saying that “The Madden NFL video games are expressive works, akin to an expressive painting that depicts celebrity athletes of past and present in a realistic sporting environment.” The ruling certainly seems to be applicable to the suit brought forward by Big Dawg as he can be equated with the former football player Jim Brown.