JimLeavy59
War Hero
EA might have hoped it was putting to rest the entire issue of lawsuits involving player likenesses when it reached a $40 million settlement, but it appears that is not the case. The NCAA is now suing both Electronic Arts and the College Licensing Company over their settlement with former college athletes who alleged EA's line of college sports games used players' likenesses without compensation.
This new lawsuit was filed earlier this month in a Georgia state court, reports USA Today. It alleges EA and CLC both breached contractual obligations they had to the NCAA with regard to the player likeness lawsuit, including the fact that EA didn't have liability insurance to cover "pending third-party claims, including for attorneys' fees that the NCAA has already incurred in defending against those claims."
With its lawsuit, the NCAA wants to block the settlement reached by EA and the CLC with former players and have EA pay for several things: any of the NCAA's future judgments involving NCAA-branded video games, the NCAA's legal fees in cases involving the games, and the NCAA's legal fees in this newly filed lawsuit against EA and the CLC.
EA has not yet commented on the lawsuit, while a CLC spokesperson offered up the following statement: "CLC is caught in the middle of a dispute between NCAA and EA which should not involve us. CLC has valued relationships with both the NCAA and EA and while we hope they can soon resolve their dispute, we see no reason for CLC to be involved."
The EA line of NCAA Football games lost the NCAA branding earlier this year, though it extended a deal with the CLC that would allow it to continue making college football games for another three years. However, individual schools and conferences were not bound to continue licensing their trademarks for use in the games, and in light of the ongoing lawsuits, conferences like the SEC, Big Ten, and PAC-12 decided not to continue working with EA Sports. This, in turn, led to EA cancelling next year's college football game and reaching a settlement in the likeness lawsuit that cost it $40 million.
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