14 DAY TRIAL // Electronic Arts has been sued by The Active Network, an online workout network accusing the company of copyright infringement. The trademark in question is EA Sports Active, the publisher/developer's highly successful fitness game. The plaintiff claims that it has the rights to use the word ‘Active’ to refer to “providing information regarding the scheduling of participatory sports and recreational activities and sporting events; sports training services, namely, providing personal training schedules and programs.”
The term was adopted by The Active Network in 1999 and trademarked in 2008. The company claims, according to Gamespot, that it offers some online fitness services under the Active brand, like the online creation of exercise programs, personal fitness chat rooms and online tracking of workout activity, calories, heart rate and weight.
The problem is that EA Sports Active 2.0 will offer similar things and, thus, becomes a direct competitor to The Active Network's online component. There is no issue with the first two EA Sports Active games for the Nintendo Wii, as they have no Internet features. The Active Network wants to prevent EA from releasing titles with such online characteristics under the Active name, as well as 75,000 dollars in damages plus the court fees.
EA Sports Active 2.0 will be launched sometime this fall for the PlayStation 3, the Nintendo Wii and the iPhone. EA Sports is introducing a wireless control system that will have leg and arm straps with motion sensors and a heartbeat monitor. The developer is promising a nine-week fitness program, which will consist of three phases that will help users live healthier and be in a good shape. There will be downloadable-content support after the release with mini-program workouts and new virtual trainers made available from time to time. No release date has been announced yet, but more information will be provided next week at E3 2010.