MLB loses right to control fantasy sports
As mentioned in Professor Han's info tech class last week, a lawsuit was brought by MLB to control fantasy leagues. MLB argued that other companies were illegally providing web users with player statistics thus infringing on players right of publicity and profiting from unlicensed material. MLB wanted the fantasy leagues to license the information in similar way that a tee shirt company would license MLB logos. MLB viewed player stats as an intellectual property.
The court held that fantasy league operators have a First Amendment right to use the information (similar to viewing the stats as "news") and that its use does not cause injury to the players' ability to use their names for revenue generation.
http://sports-law.blogspot.com/
MLB loses in fantasy stats lawsuit
The court held that, although the players enjoyed a state-law right of publicity in their names and other personal information, their publicity rights were trumped by CBC's First Amendment right to use this information. The court balanced the substantial public interest and value in this information against the relatively weak right of publicity in play. CBC's use of the information does not interfere with the players' economic interests, their ability to earn a living from their names or their performances, which is the interest at the heart of the right of publicity; that weakened publicity interest must give way to free speech rights.
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