Game Makers Must Battle it Out in Court (ERTS, ATVI)
A California state court has denied a request from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) to dismiss a suit by Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) related to a dispute over two former Activision employees who spoke to EA about possible employment.…
A California state court has denied a request from Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) to dismiss a suit by Activision Blizzard Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI) related to a dispute over two former Activision employees who spoke to EA about possible employment. The ruling means that the case will go to a jury trial unless a settlement is reached.
The suit appears to turn on who spoke first. If the employees, who had two years remaining on their contracts with Activision, had sought out a move to EA, that would be one thing. It would be a totally different thing if EA had tried to poach the employees.
When Activision fired the two, they set up an independent company and entered a deal with EA to publish and distribute the new company’s games.
The two employees have filed a separate suit against Activision claiming $36 million is owed to them in royalties for ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” a top selling Activision game.
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
