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August 01, 2008: 10:01 AM EST

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown sues Sony, Electronic Arts over video game likeness

NEW YORK (Associated Press) - NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown has filed a lawsuit in New York claiming Sony and video game maker Electronic Arts are using his name and likeness without his permission.

The former Cleveland Browns star's lawsuit said the companies sell a game featuring a character who looks like him and wears his No. 32. It doesn't specify which video game, but notes the character is part of the game's All Brown's Team.

Brown seeks unspecified damages and an injunction barring the companies from "taking a free ride on the trade value" of the former running back's name and image.

The 72-year-old played nine seasons with the Browns, before turning to Hollywood where he appeared in "The Dirty Dozen" and other movies.

Spokesmen for Sony USA Inc. and Electronics Arts Inc. did not return calls seeking comment

http://beta.gamespot.com/news/6195269.html?tag=latestheadlines;title;2


Football legend Brown sues EA, Sony over Madden
* By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
* Posted Jul 31, 2008 6:18 pm PT



All-time great NFL running back takes exception to games having historical Cleveland Browns teams with number 32 at running back.

Amongst other new features, this year's Madden NFL 09 features the licensed names and likenesses of some retired gridiron greats. Previously, Electronic Arts included historical teams in its games by omitting names and faces, but merely including numbers. For instance, Cleveland Browns great Jim Brown would appear on a team simply as a running back with amazing stats and the jersey number 32.

This could get ugly...

However, even having a faceless, nameless player bear his number was too much for Brown. Today, Bloomberg reported that the NFL hall-of-famer and 1970s action film star has filed suit against Electronic Arts and Sony, alleging they profited from his likeness and identity without his permission. According to a copy of the suit obtained by GameSpot, Brown found out earlier this year about the use of his number in Madden games, specifically Madden 2001.

Sony is named in the suit for its role in the manufacturing and distribution of the games. No mention is made of Microsoft or Nintendo, who would have played similar roles for versions of the games on their platforms.

The game included an "All Brown's Team," according to the suit, which featured "a muscular African American player wearing the number 32." Brown believes that the game infringes on his rights and acts to dilute "his inherently distinctive, and arbitrary trademark as the All-Time Great Cleveland Brown Running Back."

The suit notes that modern players sign away their likeness rights to join the NFL player's union, but when he played, there were no video games and no union to get the rights from.

Brown asks for an injunction against EA selling the game, the forfeiture of all materials bearing his likeness, and disgorgement of all profits earned form the sale of infringing Madden games.

Jim Brown is just and Xbox fanboy!!!

Jim must be gettin low on cash.

personally i think that its pathetic that he is making a big deal...he should be honored that they even put him in the game....i mean with the likes of william green and lee suggs, jamel white....its a suprise that he was chosen to be the all browns rb haha

It's a Dog eat Dawg world out there.. I know that some of you think that JB might be making more of this than he should, but I think he's entitled to compensation if he can prove that it is indeed his likeness etc etc.. That might be the hard part..

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Brown asks for an injunction against EA selling the game, the forfeiture of all materials bearing his likeness, and disgorgement

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That sounds painful.

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"All your base are belong to Jim Brown"

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Not that I really care since I don't play video games much, but why should he be honored? If anything they should have asked him. BTW those are terrible Browns RB's you mentioned, I guess you never heard of Marion Motley, Leroy Kelly, Bobby Mitchell, Kevin Mack, and Ernest Byner. The Browns have a tradition of excellent RB's, you mentioning the guys you did in the same sentence a Jim Brown is shameful on your part.

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I guess you never heard of ...

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sarcasm...

I hope that was his goal, because I missed it.

I just don't understand the he should be honored part, I doubt he really cares about video games, but I bet isn't happy his likeness is being portrayed. The funny thing about this story is that he has been used in games before and was on the All Browns teams in those games, I wonder if this time they didn't ask for his permission because this isn't the first time his likeness has been used.

I'm pretty certain the Browns owned the number 32 jersey and just an animated figure running around doesn't automatically mean Jim Brown.

Now granted you can hardly think of one without the other and being the 'All Bowns" team it's a really grey area without a name on the jersey. I'm sure the producers of the game did their homework as they've most likely done in all their other games.

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I hope that was his goal, because I missed it.

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It was, you missed the "haha" at the end...

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I just don't understand the he should be honored part,

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Me either to be honest. He is still widely regarded as the best running back, if not the best football player, to have ever played... and he's supposed to be honored that his likeness appears in a video game?.. Getting inducted into the HoF is an honor... and I don't think is in the same league as that..

I smell either a million dollar settlement, or a huge fight in the works

I didn't know he was 72...Makes me feel old everytime I watch the Dirty Dozen......

You ARE old grandpa

I'm not rushing the Grandpa thing yet...My oldest are in the stage of "producing little ones" and I'm ready yet....

hey it's just like marriage and kids. We are never READY bro

Jim Brown is not only the greatest RB ever, but he may be the greatest football player ever.

Feel honored to be on the greatest Browns team ever in a video game. Sure he is deserving of some type of retribution, but come on man...its a video game. Every great player is depicted in some way or another...

man you must not have realized i was being funny the whole honored thing was part of that sarcasim...you know with those rbs i named being chosen to be the top was supposed to be a joke....so just to let everyone know i was being sarcastic

I'm no legal expert here, but I would imagine there's some kind of agreement between the NFLPA and the game maker in order to use any type of player image. And, I would imagine that that agreement would cover all players that are a part of the NFLPA, and I would think that the NFLPA includes all NFL players, current and past.

Then again, I couldn't swear to it. Just something that would make sense to me.

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Guess we have to go to a non-football topic to finally agree with something.

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Funny, but I honestly never looked at as you and I not agreeing. I just thought we came at things from different perspectives.... Oh wait,, I guess your right,, we do disagree about disagreeing

Just pulling your leg Rish