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New Case: Keller v. Electronic Arts [Publicity]

Samuel Michael Keller v. Electronic Arts inc. et al.
case number 09-cv-1967
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

From Law360:

Law360, New York (May 06, 2009) -- A former quarterback for Arizona State University has filed a putative class action against Electronic Arts Inc. and the National Collegiate Athletics Association for appropriating and using the images and attributes of college sports players in its popular line of interactive video games in violation of NCAA rules, which prohibit commercialization of college players.

Sam Keller, once a starting quarterback for ASU's and University of Nebraska?s football teams, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, claiming that EA video games like NCAA March Madness, NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball violate NCAA rules prohibiting the use of college athletes? names and images in commercial ventures.

It looks like Mr. Keller is trying to get class action status, which could make this a huge case and a potential black eye for the NCAA and EA. Apparently EA has copied the appearance and likeness of players, down to their personal clothing choices and hairstyles, without actually using the players' names. However, many of the games allow users to upload rosters that include the actual players' names. This case just might have legs. We've added it to our tracking list and will keep you posted regarding substantive developments.

Full post as published by Patent Arcade on May 07, 2009 (boomark / email).