Goalie Kahn sues EA Sports over computer game
Star lawyer calls this precedent case for German courts
München (pte038/07.02.2003/15:56) The world's best goalie Oliver Kahn is demanding 750.000 Euros in damages from the makers of a popular computer football game that he claims is cashing in on his reputation.
Kahn is suing EA Sports, the manufacturers of the football computer game FIFA 2002 which is played by hundreds of thousands of footy fans across the world, and his claim filed with a Hamburg regional court also demands for the game to be taken off the shelves. http://www.easports.com
A goalie strikingly similar to Kahn is one of the most popular figures in the game and the real Kahn is finding this hard to swallow.
At the first court hearing on Friday, the FC Bayern skipper was represented by star lawyer Matthias Prinz who stated: "This is a precedent. German courts have never seen such a case."
Speaking to German media, Prinz added: "The game is being sold without Oliver's agreement. This is an invasion of my client's personal privacy. Apart from that, the German international objects to the way he is presented in the game."
More than 170,000 copies of the game have already been sold, netting EA Sports five million pounds. The amount of the damages is linked to the company's profits, which are estimated to be around 500,000 pounds.
EA Sports have paid football's governing body, FIFA, for the use of their name in the game and reached an agreement with the international players' union Fifpro over the use of players' names. But they have not spoken to players individually.
So far EA Sports have refused to comment on the matter, but the German FA is reportedly considering its own legal action against the company. It claims the US-based computer programmers have not asked for permission to use the German international strip and emblem. http://www.ea.com/easports/platforms/games/2002fifaworldcup/home.jsp
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