Electronic Arts Files New Ultima Trademarks and Richard Garriott Prepares Legal Action to Reclaim Franchise IP Rights Under 35 Year Copyright Rule
Electronic Arts has applied to trademark 2 new terms associated with the Ultima role playing series. The applications have generated considerable market discussion over the fate of this venerable franchise. The 1st application has been published under Class 041 which is used for online computer games.
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Experts in the industry have commented that these filings are unlikely to be point of renewal, as their files are completely new and not referencing previous filings.
The brand of Class 041 is most commonly linked to the MMORPG 07, the ongoing Ultima Online, a game which shares its already registered name. Based upon this factor, it is thought that Electronic Arts is keen to develop a different type of software title set within its world, which the company has not been providing for a number of years.
This time coincides with a major legal maneuver from the original series creator Richard Garriott. Garriott, who is best known for designing worlds Britannia, announced his plans to gain sole control to the Ultima brand. Under the United States Copyright Law, authors and creators have the right to reconvey previous licensing agreements and reclaim the copyrights of works within them 35 years of the initial commercialization or rights delivery.
Garriott initially transferred the rights to the Ultima IP to Electronic Arts back in 1992. This means that the legal date to trigger the termination clause is 2027. As recently reported by Inside Games, Garriott has allegedly been preparing to do so for quite some time. The report suggests that the creator has once tried to negotiate a joint revival of the franchise with Electronic Arts, but the negotiations did not lead anywhere, which forced him to seek the reclaim of the IP in court.
With the exception of the experimental and early release Akalabeth World of Doom the long running Ultima fantasy series began in 1981. The series peaked with 10 numbered releases with the wildly popular Ultima VII being divided into two installments. Besides the core series of single player role playing games there were numerous minor spin offs and toying for home computers.
The true Ultima legacy is the 1997 MMORPG release of Ultima Online which introduced10 major expansions and set the archetypal model for online multiplayer.
Whether Electronic Arts will release new software earlier than the 2027 legal window is yet unknown.
