EA Activates Trade-mark Lawsuit

Electronic Arts has been hit with a lawsuit aiming to stop the release of the next version of its Sports Active game. The suit was brought by Active Network, Inc., who provides on-line sports and fitness programs and services and who claims rights in the ACTIVE trade-mark in association with those services.

Active Network did not object when EA released the first version of its Sports Active game for the Wii in 2009. However, EA's announcement that Sports Active 2.0 (slated for Q4 2010 release) will be available for the Wii, the PS3 and the iPhone, and will have various on-line features, prompted Active Network's lawsuit. Active Network claims that the on-line features will mirror the services it provides on-line in association with its ACTIVE mark.

Regardless of how this lawsuit ends, it demonstrates an interesting point about trade-marks: even if you are able to, and do in fact, use your trade-mark freely in one area, you are not necessarily free to do so in another. So if you are adding new products or services or features to your existing brand line, consider conducting new trade-mark searches to make sure you are not stepping on someone else's toes by doing so.

Coverage at GameSpot and at IGN; for a link to a copy of the lawsuit click here.