(credit: Electronic Arts)
Without comment, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to side with Electronic Arts' contention that it had a First Amendment right to use professional football players likenesses without their permission in one of the world's most popular video games, Madden NFL.
EA's petition to the Supreme Court had attracted widespread interest from academics, digital rights groups, (PDF) and others. The dispute was at the intersection of the right-of-publicity claims balanced against modern technology allowing for virtual, realistic portrayals of people—in this case, professional athletes who want a piece of the financial pie.
In its petition to the justices, the game maker claimed it should not be allowed to be sued simply because it made a game that looks too real, that it nearly mirrored reality. It wanted the high court to accept its assertion that its life-like depiction of the virtual gridiron was covered by the First Amendment.
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