McIlvaine Law Firm » Video Game maker EA Sued for Music Copyright Infringement

Video Game maker EA Sued for Music Copyright Infringement

The maker of several sports licensed video games has been sued for the use of a team anthem in its games. The games include NCAA Basketball, NCAA Football, and NCAA Baseball. The song used is alleged to be the copyrighted property of composer Gerald Willis, who composed the song for the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

The way a video game license works is the owner of the intellectual property licenses all rights to their names, logos, and uniform designs to the game maker in exchange for a percentage of the profits. However, the intellectual property owner (in this case the NCAA) can only license out what they actually own. If the song in question really is owned by an individual and not the University of Nevada, then it was not the NCAA’s to license out. Hence, it would be a copyright infringement for EA to use the song in its games. Since the University appears to be licensing the song from Willis, that could indicate that it does not actually own the song. However, without knowing more of the relationship between Willis and the University, one can only assume that Willis is correct in saying that he is the valid copyright holder.

Even so, depending on the circumstances, this may be a case of innocent infringement, in which case damages may be reduced. On the other hand, EA makes a fortune off of these games, and so the maximum statutory damages that Willis has requested may still not be all that much in the eyes of the court.

Source

Published by: Spencer on October 22nd, 2008 | Filed under Video Game Law, Copyrights



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