Mascot sues EA for unpaid presence in NCAA Football 06

by Dan Choi { Aug 19th 2005 at 7:30PM }

EA has paid a lot of money to football leagues and athletic associations for exclusive rights to their teams and players in recent years. Nonetheless, I bet they never figured that not getting permission to use a certain warrior mascot in one of their games would get them into trouble. The University of Hawaii's Vili the Warrior (pictured here) has filed suit against EA for at least $75,000 in damages for the unauthorized use of his name and image in NCAA Football 06. Viliami Fehoko, who plays Vili under contract from the university, says that EA took advantage of him because they neither received permission to use the character he created nor compensated him for doing so in any way.

Well, EA haters, chalk up one more lawsuit on the boards, and be sure to cheer on your favorite mascot in court. $75,000 is a pittance to pay from EA's coffers, but it'll be great if this not-so-little guy can stand up to the biggest publisher out there.

[via Next Generation]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

first!

WARRIOR @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

hey i know vili, i've seen him around the stadium back home. GO UH WARRIORS!!! SUE 'EM VILI, think they can mess with da locals.

blinks @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Not that I mind anyone grabbing money back from EA, but $75,000 in damages? What did they damage?

Again, I'm completely for this guy needing to get paid for his appearance (without permission), but I just don't get the lawsuit...

Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

By not respecting his creation and its brand value (which depreciates when he isn't paid for the use of his intellectual property, especially for the profit of another), EA may have committed the vicious crime of copyright infringement, which is surely near and dear to its heart of gold (thanks to a little thing called piracy).

blinks @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

4

Ah, yes. Hoisted on their own petard, as it were?

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Careful, Joystiq! Better take his pic down before he breaks open a can of lawsuit on you.

I mean, for a warrior, that's kind of silly. He should go into the EA HQ killing, raping and plundering. I think he just sullied his own image.

Speaking of, doesn't his image kind of make you think of the new Oompa Loompas from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?

Finished.Law.School @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

I hope he wins.

jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

thank you imposter for making me a first post...

Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Regarding the posts numbered 1 and 8, different e-mail addresses were supplied (though you can't see them publicly), so there's a remote possibility that this is a different jc who wanted to post with that name. Of course, that may also not be true, so I can add a disclaimer like "[Not related to the other jc who posts here]" or something to that comment if it bothers you. Adding a distinct URL to your name could help distinguish you from other posers(?) as well. Just let me know what you'd prefer and I'll see what I can do.

jc @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

I don't think there is anything needed to be done...

If there is someone else that want's to post as jc, then it is their right...
If it is someone that want's to play with me, who am I to stop that on a gaming site?

Either way, I am not too concerned. Thanks for you concern, Dan Choi... and keep up the great work at Joystiq!

Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Hey, I aim to please, jc (er... the both of you =). If you have any concerns about the site, or any of my posts, however, please let me know at dpac.dan@gmail.com. I hope I'll have more great stories to post in the future. Thanks for the comments, everyone!

bodybuilding @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

take them down vili!

FutureClaimant @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Does every american have to sue someone by law or something? Everyday I read/ hear about somebody suing for something stupid. For example, today on the news, I saw that some woman sued a medical company for tablets that killed her husband, nothing wrong with suing in that case, but she got a $155 million payout!!!! I better move over there and trip over my shoelace and sue somebody for a few million

Rare Hare @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

ok, her husband was just completely erased from her life, and that includes her income.

on average, men are the major source of income. in many cases they are the ONLY source of income, depending on the situation.

for all you know he accounted for all of the money she made, or at lest a pretty good bit of it. now why don't you try to suddenly live off of that big of a blow to your financial state?

oh, i guess if it were you you'd just sit at home and twiddle your damn thumbs until your whole house was reposessed, huh?

Hmmmm @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Well, I'm all for the underdog, but companies like EA sign a contract with the NCAA that lets them use all the likenesses of stadiums, mascots, fields, uniforms, and the like. The same license forbids EA from using player likenesses, so that notoriety does not affect college player's lives. Until a player leaves college, he can't be put on the front of a NCAA Football game box, for example.
Because of that, and because Vili is, according to this article, under contract from the University to perform as their game mascot, I don't think that EA's done anything wrong. Being the mascot in a NCAA college game means you have ALREADY signed your acceptance of NCAA licensing agreements, including having your character's likeness included in any NCAA branded products, such as hats, posters, plush dolls, and NCAA Football 2006.

I'm all for the underdog, and justice, and fair play, but this seems more like a guy trying to take advantage of the current fad of EA bashing.

Just my take on it....

Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM

Hmmmm (#15), it's a little different in this case because the plaintiff actually created the character that he plays, but I guess it all comes down to how the contract was worded. I'm sure we'll find out the results soon enough (in relative legal time, that is).