EA Won't Have to Pay Madden Creator $11 Million Sum

Last summer, a jury ruled in favor of Robin Antonick and awarded him an $11 million sum in unpaid royalties to be paid from EA due to his role in the creation of the Madden franchise.

Things aren't as rosy for the Madden creator today, as a Federal Judge overturned the ruling this week.

In the ruling from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, it was cited that there was no evidence to prove that EA used Antonick's work without credit. Antonick worked on the original Apple II version of the game, but was seeking royalties for Madden games created after Antonick's departure from the company.

"Without the opportunity to view each of the versions (of the later games), the jury had no basis for evaluating whether the changes (the expert) addressed altered each subsequent game," Breyer said.

Antonick's lawyers do plan to appeal the ruling, stating that the evidence does show EA used his source code without permission.