In what has to be a pretty bizarre lawsuit, EA and Sony are both looking at a lawsuit that former NFL player and current Hall of Famer, Jim Brown, has brought against them for using his likeness without his consent.
The character, part of the “Real Old School Teams and Players” series, is a muscular, African-American running back wearing the number 32 jersey who is featured in the game’s “All Brown’s Team,” Brown said in a complaint filed yesterday in state court in New York.
Brown, who wore number 32 for the Cleveland Browns, said in the complaint that he “never signed away any rights that would allow his likeness to be used.”
Looks like Jim Brown is not a fan of Madden after all, or EA or Sony. Jim Brown goes as far to say that them abusing his likeness actually devalues his overall worth.
Brown said Sony and Electronic Arts, maker of the “Madden” football games, have “unjustly enriched and have received and continue to hold ill-gotten gains,” diluting his trademark rights for his likeness and reducing its value.
In the lawsuit, Brown seeks unspecified damages for trademark infringement, unauthorized use of his likeness, trademark dilution and unfair business practices and competition. He also seeks a preliminary and permanent court order to stop the use of his likeness.
I think Jim is getting a bit bent around the axle but lets see how this ends up. Something tells me that old Jim does not have a leg to stand on since they will say that the jersey number and the character even remotely looking like him are just coincidences.
What do you think?
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