Electronic Arts has been hit with a class-action lawsuit regarding their incredibly successful Madden NFL, NCAA Football and Arena Football League franchises.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed by Geoffrey Pecover and Andrew Owens in U.S. District Court in California, EA has violated California anti-trust and Consumer Protection laws by entering into deals with the NFL, NFLPA, NCAA and AFL that granted the exclusive licensing rights for Madden, NCAA and AFL titles.
“Plaintiffs, purchasers of Electronic Arts’ football video games, claim that Defendant Electronic Arts entered into a series of exclusive licenses with the National Football League (NFL), National Football League Players’ Association (NFLPA), National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), and Arena Football League (AFL), which Plaintiffs claim foreclosed competition in an alleged football video game market. Plaintiffs allege that this series of exclusive licenses caused customers who purchased certain football video games to be overcharged,” the lawsuit reads.
Pecover and Owens have filed the suit on behalf of anyone who has purchased a Madden NFL, NCAA or AFL-related video game after January 1, 2005.
Starting with Madden ’06, EA Sports became the only game developer with rights to produce an NFL-licensed game, ending the competition with 2KSports and their NFL 2K franchise.
In response, 2KSports signed a deal with the MLB and MLBPA to gain exclusive rights to produce MLB titles, effectively freezing out EA’s MVP Baseball franchise.
Electronic Arts has denied any wrongdoing and all liability.
For more information about the suit, you can go to http://www.easportslitigation.com or the Plaintiffs’ Counsel website http://www.hbsslaw.com
