In the modern age, owning a property is a big deal. If that property is something people want to show off in a game or movie or whatever, it generally means money in the bank for the owner or a lawsuit in court. EA has decided it no longer needs to pay gun manufacturers for the right to use the real-world firearms they produce in their games.
EA’s argument is not entirely unfounded. There are precedents for using items without licensing them, depending on the commonality of the items and how prominently featured they are. Ford cannot sue someone for putting a generic, non-branded car in their game, but could probably sue someone for making a game about a talking F-150 trying to join the circus.
While EA touts the rights of game designers to have free speech, whether the defense will hold up in court caught between laws on fair use and corporate property will be worth seeing.
On a side note, EA has assured us their decision to stop paying gun manufacturers has nothing to do with the comments those same manufacturers made after the tragedy at Sandy Hook calling game design companies, “a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.”
I can honestly say I definitely would not let something like that influence my willingness to give someone money, either.
Published: May 8, 2013 03:58 pm