Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
#1
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Thread Starter
Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
I heard this Outside The Lines report on ESPN Radio on the way home and it was pretty fascinating. It brings up a lot of interesting angles. Having never played a NCAA Football game, I'm not sure how close the likeness are, but he may have a point. Not that he'll win.
Here's the OTL piece:
<object width="384" height="216" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="ESPN_VIDEO" data="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowNetworking="all"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="opaque"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"/><param name="flashVars" value="id=4773828"/></object>
Here's the OTL piece:
<object width="384" height="216" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="ESPN_VIDEO" data="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" allowScriptAccess="always" allowNetworking="all"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><param name="wmode" value="opaque"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowNetworking" value="all"/><param name="flashVars" value="id=4773828"/></object>
#2
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Thread Starter
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Here's an article on the suit:
http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2009/07...football-games
And here's an editorial on it:
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/05/colle...ally_sue_e.php
http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2009/07...football-games
And here's an editorial on it:
http://abovethelaw.com/2009/05/colle...ally_sue_e.php
#3
DVD Talk God
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
good for them. the NCAA is a joke of an organization. making billions of dollars on a product where the sole participants don't get jack shit.
#4
gamer for life
#5
Banned
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Yes, but every other student getting any other type of scholarship doesn't lose it if the start earning money by working with a company, doing professional services, etc. Athletes, if they get more than a stipend, they lose their scholarship.
#6
gamer for life
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
the is so much money in sports though, I would guess that the kid with a scholarship for mathematics is not being hit by multiple ad agencies for the right to use them in a commercial. I am not saying what the NCAA and EA did was right, I am just saying you have to treat sports scholarships a little different, because if not, the temptation to buy off college athletes would be to strong. Hell, it is not allowed now and it still happens.
#7
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
The majority of scholarship athletes will never have the opportunity to play their sport professionally, and those that do get a free education, free housing, free meals, free airfare, and free exposure/training/marketing for a job as a professional. Lets not pretend that they're being completely exploited here. Not a single one of these scholarship athletes is forced to play in college.
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
The majority of scholarship athletes will never have the opportunity to play their sport professionally, and those that do get a free education, free housing, free meals, free airfare, and free exposure/training/marketing for a job as a professional. Lets not pretend that they're being completely exploited here. Not a single one of these scholarship athletes is forced to play in college.
#9
gamer for life
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
and I would guess they are not being made into video game characters...though if they end up playing well, they will get a scholarship and they may end up in a EA game...as long as they play for a sport that is made into a game
#10
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Thread Starter
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Not only that. The companion OTL piece talked about the Kentucky basketball players who were pushed out the door under unspoken threat of having their scholarship pulled once Calipari came in with his own players. It's the dirty little secret of the NCAA : there are NO four-year athletic scholarships, only one year, renewable ones that can be revoked at any time for any reason or no reason.
#11
Political Exile
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Doesn't Mike Krzyzewski get millions from a Nike contract by forcing his Duke team to wear Nike sneakers, and the players don't ever see a dime of the money? That seems more criminal that what the NCAA is doing with their athletic scholarships.
#13
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Columbia, MD
Posts: 8,173
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Not only that. The companion OTL piece talked about the Kentucky basketball players who were pushed out the door under unspoken threat of having their scholarship pulled once Calipari came in with his own players. It's the dirty little secret of the NCAA : there are NO four-year athletic scholarships, only one year, renewable ones that can be revoked at any time for any reason or no reason.
#14
Banned
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
#15
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 2,029
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Cal didn't recruit those players. Why should he keep around players he didn't recruit? There's ALWAYS a turnover when a new coach is hired.
#16
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Mastic, NY
Posts: 1,816
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Maybe because they are, ostensibly, enrolled at a university for an education, as opposed to just sports? If you want to impose artificial constraints on a student's compensation because of his status as a student, it's only fair to afford him some sort of protection vis a vis continuing his education.
#17
Banned
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Maybe because they are, ostensibly, enrolled at a university for an education, as opposed to just sports? If you want to impose artificial constraints on a student's compensation because of his status as a student, it's only fair to afford him some sort of protection vis a vis continuing his education.
The NCAA and Universities are making over a billion dollars a year from merchandising, licensing and using the likeness of student-athletes from all sports.
#18
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Thread Starter
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
This is getting pretty far from a video game discussion, but I think the point was if you say that NCAA players shouldn't be compensated for game usage since they get a free education, you should consider the counter argument that those players can do everything right, go to class and get good grades and still lose that educational scholarship for something as simple as not fitting into a new coach's scheme. The system is flawed, especially for the lesser talents on athletic scholarship. It seems with all the money the NCAA brings in from their Men's Basketball and Football programs, they should be able to set up some sort of protection for their scholar/athletes.
#21
DVD Talk Special Edition
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: OKC, OK
Posts: 1,501
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
#23
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Thread Starter
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
No particular fan of Tebow or Florida, but that guy is the face of college football this past decade. If he doesn't appear on the cover, it's because he turned them down.
#24
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Louisville
Posts: 7,595
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
I'm interested to see how EA supports its statement in the piece about "supposed representation of players in the game" when they have to pay players unions to gain the ability to put their real-life names in their respective video game titles. Reminded me of all those years when Michael Jordan would always appear as "#23, Bulls" on NBA Live titles because he wasn't a part of the NBA players association.
BTW, that Tim Tebow NCAA 2010 image? How does that resemble Tebow?
BTW, that Tim Tebow NCAA 2010 image? How does that resemble Tebow?
Last edited by DGibFen; 01-10-10 at 01:09 AM.
#25
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Louisville
Posts: 7,595
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Re: Former College Player Sues EA, NCAA Over Likeness Usage In Game
Update: EA's motion to dismiss denied.
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/02/14/co...ayers-lawsuit/
We've been on pins and needles since last May, when we first heard about former NCAA football player Samuel Keller's lawsuit against EA, which claimed that his likeness and the likenesses of his former athletic colleagues had been used in the company's games without permission. According to court documents obtained by Patent Arcade, there was a development in the case last week: The U.S. District for the Northern District of California denied EA's motion to dismiss Keller's claims outright.
According to the aforementioned court documents, EA's defense claimed the NCAA series' in-game players were subject to "significant transformative elements," which allowed the title to be protected by the First Amendment. The court saw differently, however, ruling that "EA's game goes beyond mere reporting of 'just the players' names and statistics; it offers a depiction of the student athletes' physical characteristics and, as noted, enables consumers to control the virtual players on a simulated football field."
In short, Keller's complaints have garnered some traction in the California court. We'll likely be hearing more on this case -- we just hope we don't have to wait eight and a half months before the next update comes.
According to the aforementioned court documents, EA's defense claimed the NCAA series' in-game players were subject to "significant transformative elements," which allowed the title to be protected by the First Amendment. The court saw differently, however, ruling that "EA's game goes beyond mere reporting of 'just the players' names and statistics; it offers a depiction of the student athletes' physical characteristics and, as noted, enables consumers to control the virtual players on a simulated football field."
In short, Keller's complaints have garnered some traction in the California court. We'll likely be hearing more on this case -- we just hope we don't have to wait eight and a half months before the next update comes.