Ultima creator eyes reclaiming rights from EA via old copyright rule

Richard Garriott (Lord British) plans to reclaim the Ultima rights from Electronic Arts by invoking Section 203 of the U.S. Copyright Act, which allows authors to regain rights after about 35 years. EA has recently filed new trademarks for the Ultima franchise, hinting at potential activity or defensive positioning. If successful, Garriott would regain copyright to the original work (though not necessarily launch a new Ultima game), since copyright covers code and look/feel while trademarks protect branding.