Could a Supreme Court case kill EA's NFL exclusivity?

[Queasy]

Game Politics

A non-gaming case currently before the United States Supreme Court stands to have a massive impact on the video game industry.

The case is American Needle vs New Orleans Saints, et al. Should the Supreme Court find in favor of plaintiff American Needle, an apparel manufacturer, EA's exclusive NFL licensing deal and Take-Two's third-party exclusive with Major League Baseball could be found in violation of federal antitrust (i.e., monopoly) statutes. Such a determination would free other publishers to make games based on the NFL and MLB.

SCOTUSblog, which tracks happenings before the Supreme Court, reports on the case:

The NFL used to license American Needle to sell hats that bore the logos, the names or other insignia of pro football teams... But, in 2000, the NFL opted to solicit bids for an exclusive license to produce caps and other headwear. Reebok won the bidding, and in 2001 got an exclusive ten-year license. American Needle?s license was not renewed. So it sued the NFL, all of its teams, NFL Properties, and Reebok.

American Needle?s case was thrown out by lower courts... ?The [Supreme] Court has stated, on more than one occasion,? American Needle asserted, ?that application of the Sherman Act to professional sports teams is wholly consistent with Congressional inent...?

What happened to American Needle in relation to apparel is essentially what happened to Take-Two in regard to its excellent NFL2K series when EA scored its exclusive license with the NFL in 2004.

Attorneys for EA are clearly tracking the American Needle case. The phrase "American Needle" appears nine times in a transcript of arguments made by attorneys last November in Pecover vs. Electronic Arts, a class-action suit which alleges that consumers were hurt by EA's NFL exclusive (see: Spirited Courtroom Argument Highlights Madden Monopoly Case).

SCOTUSblog reports that the Supreme Court has requested government lawyers to weigh in on the case.

 

[Yreka]

Please yes... Then go after Direct TV

 

[BassBomb]

What about how EA has rights to Porsche and other cars for racing games.

 

[RagingBITCH]

Well there's some merit to the case if the SC is taking a look at it. For those legal nerds like me who like reading about it:

http://www.foley.com/publicati...detail.aspx?pubid=5222

They make a good point about teams wanting to compete against each other. I don't think the SC will rule in favor of American Needle though. They only have an exclusive license for head wear, versus the whole spectrum of clothing, jerseys, etc. I don't see that they'll overturn what the lower courts ruled against, but that's just my two cents.

 

[Slick5150]

There's been talk about this for awhile now, and at one point Sega was looking to get involved after their NFL2k franchise got screwed over in the process.

And yes, the next step is to go after the NFL-DirecTV monopoly on Sunday Ticket. Its ridiculous. In Canada you can get Sunday Ticket for half the price and over cable, but in the US? Nope.

 

[Pr0d1gy]

All of the utility monopolies in this country need to be dealt with as well. We should have a choice in cable carriers, phone providers, etc in any location we move to; and we shouldn't be stuck doing business with a company we hate (Comcast for me).

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: Pr0d1gy
All of the utility monopolies in this country need to be dealt with as well. We should have a choice in cable carriers, phone providers, etc in any location we move to; and we shouldn't be stuck doing business with a company we hate (Comcast for me).

Ok, yeah, that's a completely different argument, and entirely off topic.

And ask California how they're electrical deregulation worked out for them.