Scott Graham writes for The Recorder, an American lawyer affiliate.
A San Francisco federal jury found Tuesday that early versions of Electronic Arts' Madden NFL Football were derivative works of a game created by Robin Antonick. The verdict — the second favoring Antonick in a three-phase trial — will be worth between $3.5 million and $11.6 million in unpaid royalties, pending a decision on prejudgment interest, according to one of Antonick's attorneys.
More important, his attorneys say, is the verdict puts Antonick in a strong position to prove that EA's later versions of the game, worth many billions of dollars, made similar unauthorized use of Antonick's work. "Assuming that same play data is in there — and there's no reason not to — then liability is determined, or easy to show," said Leonard Aragon, a partner at Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro.
