NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

[Hooe]

NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Seems like that would be a stupid thing for them to do. They gain nothing by doing it, and stand to lose customers as well—in addition to further tarnishing their brand.

Possibly. However, if a trademark or copyright holder does not aggressively defend their trademark or copyright, then the legal protections offered by those devices are nullified as far as courts are concerned.

Put another way, copyright / trademark holders must defend their marks in order for the protections of their IP to have any legal strength.

Additionally, it wouldn’t be EA Sports doing the C&D here, it’d be the college athletic departments themselves. I doubt EA Sports cares much about Madden PC modding one way or the other as long as it doesn’t impact the online components of their game.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Possibly. However, if a trademark or copyright holder does not aggressively defend their trademark or copyright, then the legal protections offered by those devices are nullified as far as courts are concerned.

Put another way, copyright / trademark holders must defend their marks in order for the protections of their IP to have any legal strength.

Additionally, it wouldn’t be EA Sports doing the C&D here, it’d be the college athletic departments themselves. I doubt EA Sports cares much about Madden PC modding one way or the other as long as it doesn’t impact the online components of their game.

I'll have to disagree on that. This smacks of a Kantian ethics argument, and I've never bought his categorical imperative stuff. There are conceivably situations in which it is more profitable not to.


Now, college teams themselves, perhaps. They don't gain much if anything at all with these mods existing, while EA themselves gains happy customers.

[canes21]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

I'll have to disagree on that. This smacks of a Kantian ethics argument, and I've never bought his categorical imperative stuff. There are conceivably situations in which it is more profitable not to.


Now, college teams themselves, perhaps. They don't gain much if anything at all with these mods existing, while EA themselves gains happy customers.

By law you must defend your trademark or copyright or you can lose it. That's what he was referencing.

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[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

By law you must defend your trademark or copyright or you can lose it. That's what he was referencing.

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Pretty sure it's trademarks that have to be defended, not copyrights.

[michdb8]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

I wonder why NFL players are playing modded madden games and not real madden?

cause madden without mods is garbage for offline players

[Hooe]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Pretty sure it's trademarks that have to be defended, not copyrights.

You’re mostly right. Copyright in general is automatic the moment a work is created, but in the United States registration of copyright is required to bring forth an infringement lawsuit.

That said, every single college football team’s logos and workmarks are protected by trademarks or registered trademarks. For example, here is the active trademark record for the V-Sabre logo used by the Virginia Cavaliers.

[Dagan]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

That's exactly some narcissist stuff going on. If they can't have it their way, they will contradict themselves by just destroying everything. "If I can't have it my way, no one can have it at all." I see this BS at work constantly. Thankfully, these people don't last very long or get a healthy transfer to a new department.

As far as what can be done in the court system, I think that lately we have seen proof that those people can pick and choose to make anything happen no matter how much sense it makes, no matter who it upsets. Nothing is impossible.

[Hooe]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

As far as what can be done in the court system, I think that lately we have seen proof that those people can pick and choose to make anything happen no matter how much sense it makes, no matter who it upsets. Nothing is impossible.

Video game companies have been squashing mods out of existence using the force of the legal system for years if not decades. Just over the past five years, Take 2 (GTA V, Red Dead Redemption 2), Blizzard (Diablo II), Nintendo (various games), CryTek (various games), Valve (Team Fortress 2), and many many other video game companies have used their trademark rights to kill off mods via cease-and-desist notifications.

This is not new behavior, nor is it novel or shifting legal precedent. Some video game companies embrace modding (Paradox Interactive and Mojang come to mind). Others do not.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

You’re mostly right. Copyright in general is automatic the moment a work is created, but in the United States registration of copyright is required to bring forth an infringement lawsuit.

That said, every single college football team’s logos and workmarks are protected by trademarks or registered trademarks. For example, here is the active trademark record for the V-Sabre logo used by the Virginia Cavaliers.

Well, I believe I'm completely right on the "You don't have to defend your copyright" claim. However it is quite true that many team names, logos, etc are trademarks. IIRC, that was what happened with the Washington Redskins name/logo.




EA can try to squash mods. They might scare some people away. But they're not going to squash all of it without simply discontinuing the PC version of the game, and doing so is, as I said, against their best interest. Except for the NCAA thing. They now have skin in that. But they would be wise to only squash infringing mods, and leave harmless TOS violating mods, such as gameplay modifications, alone.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

HAHAHA of course its CJ Gardner-Johnson getting chucked off a Discord and crying to the heavens about it. That man has been punched on a football field on at least three separate occasions, once by a teammate!

[Hooe]

NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

EA can try to squash mods. They might scare some people away. But they're not going to squash all of it without simply discontinuing the PC version of the game, and doing so is, as I said, against their best interest. Except for the NCAA thing. They now have skin in that. But they would be wise to only squash infringing mods, and leave harmless TOS violating mods, such as gameplay modifications, alone.

I honestly don’t think we will see EA do anything. For one, EA Sports has largely ignored mods entirely; none of their games offer proper mod support. Specific to Madden, PC is a small fraction of the game’s total audience, so as long as the mods don’t impact EA’s ability to sell Ultimate Team cards (including and up to cheating tools, EA has gone after bad actors using cheat tools in Apex Legends), I don’t think they will care. Outside of EA Sports, EA as a whole has a history of being vaguely friendly to the modding community, mostly via The Sims.

This state of play admittedly may possibly change next year when EA releases their own licensed college football video game. For example, one of Take 2’s various C&D takedowns related to Grand Theft Auto was of a GTA III / Vice City / San Andreas HD remaster mod, which T2 ordered down in advance of selling their own (poorly received) remasters of those same games.

In the short term, I would be more concerned about college football programs themselves and the CLC putting the kibosh on this mod. Those actions would be totally independent of anything EA might or might not do.

[TheBleedingRed21]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Guys.. CFBR has been out for several years now.. EA has hired from our mod team and personally use the mod to enjoy their time.

Madden has had college mods since it came to PC.

This is nothing new, it’s only “news” because omg, it’s an nfl player. Who cares, really?

It was a good laugh for our discord but Gardner Johnson whining isn’t going to do anything, he hasn’t brought any new eyes from EA or colleges on these mods, I promise you, they’ve been well aware.

[KingsoftheValley2]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Straight diva 👩*🎤, sucka move. I’m pissed at Haney as well for denying to be included in that new ESBC boxing. Damn, that’s how y’all play, diva roles.

[ForUntoOblivionSoar∞]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Guys.. CFBR has been out for several years now.. EA has hired from our mod team and personally use the mod to enjoy their time.

Madden has had college mods since it came to PC.

This is nothing new, it’s only “news” because omg, it’s an nfl player. Who cares, really?

It was a good laugh for our discord but Gardner Johnson whining isn’t going to do anything, he hasn’t brought any new eyes from EA or colleges on these mods, I promise you, they’ve been well aware.

Quite so. I directly asked I think Kane and one other guy for help on finding the names of some assets so I could mod uniforms a few years ago. They gladly helped.

[Ragnar84]

Re: NFL Player Threatens Madden Modding Community, Asks EA to Shut Them Down

Guys.. CFBR has been out for several years now.. EA has hired from our mod team and personally use the mod to enjoy their time.

Madden has had college mods since it came to PC.

This is nothing new, it’s only “news” because omg, it’s an nfl player. Who cares, really?

It was a good laugh for our discord but Gardner Johnson whining isn’t going to do anything, he hasn’t brought any new eyes from EA or colleges on these mods, I promise you, they’ve been well aware.

If EA wanted to shut down the mod community (FIFA or madden) it would have been done years ago. Same with 2k and nfl 2k5 and the their college hoops mods.


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