EA sued by composer for $1.5 million
Song allegedly used in ten sports titles without musician's agreement
EA is facing a lawsuit by composer Gerald Willis over the copyright violation of his song Win With the Rebels, which was used without his permission in ten sports titles.
Originally written for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Win With the Rebels can be heard in NCAA Basketball 2009, NCAA Football 2006 to 2009, NCAA March Madness 2006 to 2008, and NCAA Baseball 2006 and 2007. Willis is asking for USD 150,000 for each copyright violation, bringing the total amount up to USD 1.5 million, according to the Review-Journal.
"The US copyright law allows for enforcement of copyright, and we trust the judge to determine what would be appropriate in a situation like this," said Willis' lawyer, Ellen Winograd
However, the legal action against EA shouldn't impact on the University of Nevada, Las Vega, which is not named in the lawsuit.
"I think the UNLV band sounds great when they play it, and that's what it was written for," Winograd explained. "It was not written for commercial use."