Konami Wins French Legal Case

Lawyers representing Konami have won a legal battle with the Federation Francaise de Football, with a Paris judge ruling that the company’s Pro Evolution Soccer (known as World Soccer Winning Eleven in the US and Japan) titles do not infringe the organization’s trademarks. The FFF had claimed that Konami illegally used player names and likenesses of the French national team, as well as the logos and strips, and attempted to have the games banned from sale in France. Konami, however, successfully argued that the FFF was breaking anti-monopoly laws in granting the appropriate licensing rights of the French national team solely to Football France Promotion. Source: gamesindustry.biz