SAN FRANCISCO — U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer became the judicial equivalent of Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman on Wednesday, swatting away a potentially lucrative copyright infringement award just as plaintiffs appeared on the verge of triumph.

In a stunning order, Breyer entered judgment for Electronic Arts in a dispute with video game designer Robin Antonick, who had accused the company of cheating him out of royalties for the wildly popular Madden Football series.