Electronic Arts Headed for Trial over ‘Madden NFL’ Claims

By Amanda Bronstad

This story first appeared in The National Law Journal, an American Lawyer affiliate.

Electronic Arts Inc. faces trial next month in a case brought by a former college football player who claims its employees copied his source code to develop the company's successful Madden NFL football video games.

Robin Antonick, who developed the first version of the game during the late 1980s for the Commodore 64, MS DOS and Apple II, sued Electronic Arts on March 30, 2011, alleging the company breached its 1986 contract with him by using his intellectual property without his permission. Furthermore, the suit alleges, Electronic Arts executives fraudulently promised Antonick that his intellectual property had not been used on several of its games developed after 1990.