The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a group of former college athletes led by onetime Arizona State quarterback Sam Keller could proceed with their lawsuit against EA Sports for ?stealing? their likenesses and physical attributes.
Judge Jay Bybee, a BYU alumnus, authored the majority opinion. Per the San Francisco Chronicle, Bybee wrote, ?"EA's use does not qualify for First Amendment protection as a matter of law because it literally re-creates Keller in the very setting in which he has received renown. Given that 'NCAA Football' realistically portrays college football players in the context of college football games, the district court was correct in concluding that EA cannot prevail as a matter of law."
Courthouse News Service's Annie Youderian wrote, ?Keller's lawsuit is similar to the antitrust class action filed in 2009 by former UCLA basketball star Edward O'Bannon. He accused EA and the NCAA of conspiring to dupe college athletes into signing away their rights to profit from their own images.?
?The lawsuits are part of a broader legal campaign that, if successful, could force the National Collegiate Athletic Association to tweak its longstanding rule that college athletes can't profit from their celebrity,? Joe Palazzolo reported Thursday for the Wall Street Journal. ?Electronic Arts pays the Collegiate Licensing Co., the NCAA's licensing arm, to use school and team names, uniforms and even fight songs. But the company doesn't compensate college players.
?The NCAA declined to comment. ? It announced in July that it won't renew its contract with EA due to the ?current business climate and costs of litigation.??
Email: jaskar@desnews.com
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