14 DAY TRIAL // Both Electronic Arts and Sony, as creators and publishers of the Madden NFL series of videogames, are being sued in the Supreme Court by Jim Brown, one of the great players of American Football, one of the people that entered its Pro Football Hall of Fame. As a player, Brown wore the no. 32 T-shirt in an NFL career that stretched from 1957 to 1965.
The issue of contention in the trial is the fact that Electronic Arts chose to include an All Browns Team in the available rooster, with one of the players wearing the number 32 and bearing a striking resemblance to Jim Brown, even if he is not identified by name. The player in question is tall and well built, being clearly modeled based on the retired star. The player says that all the fans of the game will recognize him as the one that EA Sports created, even if his name is omitted.
The former player's lawyers have issued a statement which reveals that "To Brown's knowledge, [Sony and Electronic Arts] are not now, nor have they ever been, authorized to make any use of his trademark as the All-Time Great Cleveland Browns running back.", before mentioning that until now they hadn't sought any compensation because "when Jim Brown played football, the NFL had a league wide policy that players shall have no lawyers or agents when negotiating compensation. Video games were not invented yet".
The player said that he would never allow his image to be used in a videogame, even if he was asked to and even if material compensation was offered by Electronic Arts. He demands his image to be removed from the game and he is also seeking an unspecified sum in damages and court fees.
Electronic Arts has recently signed a new agreement with the representatives of American football, getting the right to use an NFL license, which covers players and stadiums until 2012.