{"id":2004542,"date":"2026-06-22T14:41:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2004542"},"modified":"2026-06-22T14:41:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T11:41:20","slug":"ultimas-creator-richard-garriott-is-planning-to-win-back-the-rights-to-his-legendary-rpg-from-ea-with-an-50-year-old-copyright-quirk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2004542","title":{"rendered":"Ultima&#8217;s creator Richard Garriott is planning to win back the rights to his legendary RPG from EA with an 50-year-old copyright quirk"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/ultima\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Ultima<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Ultima&#8217;s creator Richard Garriott is planning to win back the rights to his legendary RPG from EA with an 50-year-old copyright quirk<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Re-turn of the century.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/ultima-9-ascension.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"Screenshot of Ultima 9: Ascension\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"ultima-9-ascension.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"320\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>EA<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Connor Makar avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"tAtwiaBo_400x400.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"374\" height=\"374\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/connor-makar\">Connor Makar<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Staff Writer<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-06-22T14:41:20+00:00\">June 22, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"2644353b-1c96-48f1-ac7a-df1affc245da\" data-name=\"Ultima\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Ultima\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Ultima\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Ultima\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Ultima\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Ultima\" title=\"Follow Ultima\"><br \/>\n  Follow Ultima<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Ultima designer Richard Garriott (AKA Lord British) has a plan to claim back the rights to his legendary RPG series from current owner EA. The trick to doing so? A rather obscure bit of copyright law from around 50 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>EA acquired the Ultima rights, alongside its developer Origin Systems, back in 1992, and the publisher eventually closed the studio in 2004. Since then, Garriott hasn&#8217;t been shy about his intentions to win back Ultima. He&#8217;s often <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RichardGarriott\/status\/2052695698290741677\">said as much on X<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RichardGarriott\/status\/2052695698290741677\">recently told <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v_aVTHKzGbA\">Inside Games<\/a>, &#8220;Every decade or so, I tried to work with EA on a revival of Ultima. They always seemed interested enough to start talking, then abandon talks just as quickly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Prepare to Ascend - Ultima IX Ascension Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/73hIkZYDIdk?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/73hIkZYDIdk\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Prepare to Ascend &#8211; Ultima IX Ascension Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a trailer for Ultima IX Ascension!<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=73hIkZYDIdk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Garriott&#8217;s statement comes after the discovery of <a href=\"https:\/\/thephrasemaker.com\/2026\/06\/15\/ea-has-filed-new-trademarks-for-ultima\/\">new trademarks filed by EA for the Ultima franchise<\/a>. These trademarks are notably somewhat different from typical renewal of ownership, with one filed as a Class 041 (video game) and the other as a Class 009 (downloadable video game) trademark.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This could suggest the EA is planning one of two things. It&#8217;s either looking to do <em>something<\/em> with the Ultima IP, which hasn&#8217;t had a new entry since 2013&#8217;s short-lived free-to-play mobile effort Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar. Or, it&#8217;s potentially shoring up its defences against another party aiming to use this IP. Enter Richard Garriott.<\/p>\n<p>It seems Garriott has a plan up his sleeve. As he explained to Inside Games, he intends to claim the series&#8217; copyright back from EA using Section 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976. This states that after 35 years, the original author (creator) of a work can reclaim their copyright. This is a right granted to all creators in the USA, meaning all Garriott would have to do is provide a signed written statement to the copyright office, and the Ultima copyright would be his. Next year, Garriott would be well within his rights in getting the copyright back.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting there&#8217;s a significant difference between copyright and trademark. As Inside Games points out, copyright covers the source code of a game as well as its general look and feel, whereas the trademark protects the brand identity of a game. So, if Garriott does take back the copyright, he won&#8217;t be able to make a new &#8216;Ultima&#8217; game, but he would be able to make a game very similar to Ultima.<\/p>\n<p>Garriott says &#8220;&#8216;Lord British&#8217;s Ultima&#8217; will regain all the copyrights of my original work. What it will become, is the next challenge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>Ultima designer Richard Garriott (AKA Lord British) has a plan to claim back the rights to his legendary RPG series from current owner EA. The trick to doing so? A rather obscure bit of copyright law from around 50 years ago.<\/p>\n<p>EA acquired the Ultima rights, alongside its developer Origin Systems, back in 1992, and the publisher eventually closed the studio in 2004. Since then, Garriott hasn&#8217;t been shy about his intentions to win back Ultima. He&#8217;s often <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RichardGarriott\/status\/2052695698290741677\">said as much on X<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RichardGarriott\/status\/2052695698290741677\">recently told <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v_aVTHKzGbA\">Inside Games<\/a>, &#8220;Every decade or so, I tried to work with EA on a revival of Ultima. They always seemed interested enough to start talking, then abandon talks just as quickly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Prepare to Ascend - Ultima IX Ascension Trailer\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/73hIkZYDIdk?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/73hIkZYDIdk\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Prepare to Ascend &#8211; Ultima IX Ascension Trailer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Here&#8217;s a trailer for Ultima IX Ascension!<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=73hIkZYDIdk\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Garriott&#8217;s statement comes after the discovery of <a href=\"https:\/\/thephrasemaker.com\/2026\/06\/15\/ea-has-filed-new-trademarks-for-ultima\/\">new trademarks filed by EA for the Ultima franchise<\/a>. These trademarks are notably somewhat different from typical renewal of ownership, with one filed as a Class 041 (video game) and the other as a Class 009 (downloadable video game) trademark.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>This could suggest the EA is planning one of two things. It&#8217;s either looking to do <em>something<\/em> with the Ultima IP, which hasn&#8217;t had a new entry since 2013&#8217;s short-lived free-to-play mobile effort Ultima Forever: Quest for the Avatar. Or, it&#8217;s potentially shoring up its defences against another party aiming to use this IP. Enter Richard Garriott.<\/p>\n<p>It seems Garriott has a plan up his sleeve. As he explained to Inside Games, he intends to claim the series&#8217; copyright back from EA using Section 203 of the Copyright Act of 1976. This states that after 35 years, the original author (creator) of a work can reclaim their copyright. This is a right granted to all creators in the USA, meaning all Garriott would have to do is provide a signed written statement to the copyright office, and the Ultima copyright would be his. Next year, Garriott would be well within his rights in getting the copyright back.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s worth noting there&#8217;s a significant difference between copyright and trademark. As Inside Games points out, copyright covers the source code of a game as well as its general look and feel, whereas the trademark protects the brand identity of a game. So, if Garriott does take back the copyright, he won&#8217;t be able to make a new &#8216;Ultima&#8217; game, but he would be able to make a game very similar to Ultima.<\/p>\n<p>Garriott says &#8220;&#8216;Lord British&#8217;s Ultima&#8217; will regain all the copyrights of my original work. What it will become, is the next challenge.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Ultima Ultima&#8217;s creator Richard Garriott is planning to win back the rights to his legendary RPG from EA with an 50-year-old copyright quirk Re-turn of the century. Image credit: EA News by Connor Makar Staff Writer Published on June 22, 2026 Follow Ultima Ultima designer Richard Garriott (AKA Lord British) has a plan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-2004542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2004542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2004542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2004542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2004542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2004542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2004542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}