Posted Fri Jul 19, 2013 at 09:30 AM PDT by Brian Hoss
New three-year agreement is non-exclusive.
In its own special way, the NCAA made a surprising announcement this week by declaring that it would not be renewing its contract with Electronic Arts. This of course would affect the one and only college football video game, the last installment of which only just released.
"The current contract expires in June 2014, but our timing is based on the need to provide EA notice for future planning. As a result, the NCAA Football 2014 video game will be the last to include the NCAA’s name and logo. We are confident in our legal position regarding the use of our trademarks in video games. But given the current business climate and costs of litigation, we determined participating in this game is not in the best interests of the NCAA."
Despite the dramatic sounding details, the contract only affects the NCAA name and logo, as individual schools logos, fight songs, etc. are licensed through the Collegiate Licensing Company.
While EA has hardly missed a beat, and quickly has announced plans for next year's release 'College Football 15,' some new details about their business plans have emerged.
From Joystiq, "EA was not going to renew its exclusive contract with the NCAA for at least five years, as stipulated by EA's proposed $27 million lawsuit settlement from July 2012."
More importantly, EA has struck a three-year agreement with CLC that should see at least three more installments of the college football franchise. Since the agreement is non-exclusive, it is possible that another college football game could be produced with authentic school logos and trappings, however, EA's exclusive licensee with the NFL, which is for far more than just a single name and logo, minimizes that possibility.
Source: Joystiq
Author: Brian Hoss
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