Maradona awarded 3m yuan over online game

Soccer legend Diego Maradona has been awarded 3 million yuan ($490,000) by a Beijing court after he sued three Chinese companies over an online game.

The judge at No 1 Intermediate People's Court on Monday accepted the 52-year-old Argentinian's claim that Hot-Blooded Soccer had infringed his image rights by featuring a cartoon of the star and his signature without consent.

The game was developed by The9 Ltd and had been available on Sina's online game platform.

Maradona had demanded 20 million yuan in damages from Shanghai The9 Information Technology Co, The9 Computer Technology Consulting (Shanghai) Co and Beijing Sina Internet Information Service Co.

The figure was based on an endorsement deal Maradona, the former Argentina national coach, has with a German brand, according to his lawyer, Ge Youshan of Zhongyin Law Firm.

However, the judge dismissed the endorsement deal and said the amount of damages was decided based on the length of time Maradona's image was used and the popularity of the game. Ge said he will contact Maradona over whether to appeal the compensation amount.

The9, co-founded by Zhu Jun, the majority owner of Shanghai Shenhua Football Club, was ordered to pay 3 million yuan for infringing on image rights and 1 yuan for mental anguish. It must post a letter of apology to Maradona on its website for 90 days.

Sina must also display the apology on its website, although it was not required to pay a share of the compensation.

After the hearing, Xu Changbo, the attorney representing the Internet company, described the judgment as "an accurate decision" and said he did not think Sina will appeal.

Li Zhengning, the lawyer acting for both The9 companies, said he will need discussions on how to proceed.

Hot-Blooded Soccer, which allows users to play against each other online, was still available on The9's gaming platform - 9c.com - on Monday. Maradona's signature and image have been removed.

The game has been removed from Sina's games website.

houliqiang@chinadaily.com