Games as Derivative Works

The programmer of the original (US) football game marketed as "Madden NFL Football" by Electronic Arts has won a court case over subsequent versions of the game. The programmer's contract specified that he should be paid for works derived from his original concepts and the court has found that versions of the game up to 1996 were "virtually identical" to the original. This is a vastly unexplored area of law, but gaming - particularly major houses - is increasingly moving toward franchises where games have sequels and spin-offs galore rather than developing new ideas for each year's releases. The question of what constitutes a "new" game is going to continue to be argued I expect.