A US District Court jury, in the Northern District of California, has given the verdict in favor of the original credited designer for EA’s Madden NFL series, Robin Antonick, awarding him $11 million. He had registered for a lawsuit against publisher Electronic Arts, seeking unpaid royalties for iterations in the series released between 1990 and 1996.
According to a press release issued by Hagens Berman, “The jury found that games released during that time were virtually identical to the original version of Madden NFL Football, developed by Antonick. Antonick and his attorneys will seek to appeal previous rulings that excluded Super Nintendo games and fraud claims from the jury deliberations.”
The case will now be moving forward to the next phase. Reportedly, in the next phase, the court shall have to conclude whether EA owes Antonick royalties for games in the series that have been launched from 1997 till today.