Electronic Arts continues to find itself a lighting rod for lawsuits, with at least three additional actions against the game maker documented by GameSpot.

Former University of North Carolina basketball player Byron Bishop has filed a suit, one seeking class-action status, against the NCAA, its licensing division and EA, charging that the defendants “conspired to violate the NCAA's own by-laws prohibiting the for-profit use of amateur athletes by including likenesses--but not names--of current athletes in its NCAA-branded games.” Similar lawsuits have been piling up against EA.

NFL superfan John Big Dawg Thompson, a member of the Cleveland Browns Dawg Pound, charges EA with the “unauthorized and unlicensed use of the images, likenesses, characters and persona of plaintiff’s Big Dawg character” in Madden NFL 2009. Thompson, who has appeared as Big Dawg “for nearly 25 years,” seeks a “reasonable sum” in excess of $25,000.

Fight Night Round 4 is at the center of the next lawsuit, with Fighters Incorporated, LLC suing EA for the “unlawful” use of three of Fighters Inc.’s boxers’ images in that title. Fighters Inc. further claims that EA induced several fighters to breach their contracts with Fighters Inc., then “dared Fighters Inc. to sue EA, suggesting EA was too big and powerful to challenge in court.” Fighters Inc. seeks damages of around $25.0 million, plus court costs.

Downloads:
Complaint for John Big Dawg Thompson vs Electronic Arts Inc. (PDF)
Complaint for Fighters Incorporated vs Electronic Arts Inc. (PDF)