Third Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment In Favor of Video Game Maker In Important Right of Publicity Case

Jackson Walker
Contact

In a much-anticipated opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday reversed a New Jersey lower court decision granting summary judgment in favor of video game giant Electronic Arts against putative class representative and former Rutgers star quarterback Ryan Hart on his claim that EA misappropriated his identity and that of thousands of other collegiate players in its popular NCAA Football video game franchise in violation of their right of publicity. The decision is likely to have far-reaching consequences for video game makers and authors of any works containing characters which are thinly-disguised clones of sports stars or other celebrities.

In NCAA Football, the player avatars are virtually identical to their real-life athlete counterparts, down to their physical appearance, jersey number, home town, unique playing style, even their wrist bands, visors and gloves. EA obtains no licenses from and pays no royalties to the ex- and current college players, citing the First Amendment's protection of creative expression. The players counter that inclusion of their life-like avatars adds the realism that makes EA's games so popular, and constitutes commercial exploitation of their identities without their consent....

Please see full publication below for more information.

LOADING PDF: If there are any problems, click here to download the file.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.

© Jackson Walker

Written by:

Jackson Walker
Contact
more
less

PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA NOW

  • Increased visibility
  • Actionable analytics
  • Ongoing guidance

Jackson Walker on:

Reporters on Deadline

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
Custom Email Digest
- hide
- hide