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Electronic Arts Inc. and the National Collegiate Athletic Association were sued by a former college football player who claims athletes’ images are used in video games without their permission and in violation of NCAA rules.

Electronic Arts, the second-largest video-game publisher, circumvents the rules by allowing customers to upload player names directly into games and creating images that closely resemble student athletes to increase sales and NCCA royalties, according to the complaint filed by Sam Keller, a former quarterback for Arizona State University.

The practice is sanctioned by the NCAA and a licensing company for the association, Keller said in his complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Oakland, California. Keller seeks to represent all NCCA football and basketball players featured in Electronic Arts’ NCAA video games.

“Electronic Arts is not permitted to use player names and likeness,” Keller said. Yet the company “with the knowledge, participation and approval of the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Co. extensively utilizes actual player names and likeness.”

NCAA rules prohibits the commercial licensing of current NCAA athletes’ names, pictures or likeness, the lawsuit says. Electronic Arts markets NCAA Basketball, NCAA Football and NCAA March Madness games. It sold 2.5 million NCAA Football games last year, said Robert Carey, an attorney for Keller.

Violating Rights

The lawsuit claims Electronic Arts, the NCAA and Collegiate Licensing Co. conspired to circumvent the association’s rules and violated the players’ rights to control and profit from the use of their names and likenesses. It seeks to recoup profits from the games for the players and seizure of games that infringe on athletes’ rights.

“You can’t put the genie back in the box,” said Steve Berman, a lawyer seeking to represent thousands of NCAA athletes. “The lawsuit seeks penalties based on laws in California and Indiana that prohibit this kind of conduct and seeks return of any profit from this practice.”

The NCAA denied that athletes’ images were used in the games.

“Our agreement with EA Sports clearly prohibits the use of names and pictures of current student-athletes in their electronic games,” said Stacey Osburn, a spokeswoman for Indianapolis, Indiana-based NCAA. “We are confident that no such use has occurred and that we will ultimately be dismissed from this lawsuit.”

Jeff Brown, a spokesman for Redwood City, California-based Electronic Arts, said company officials haven’t received the lawsuit and declined to comment.

The case is Keller v Electronic Arts, 09-01967, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

(Source: Bloomberg)