A federal judge yesterday ruled that baseball player names and stats were part of the public domain and that fantasy sports games operators could use them free of charge. MLB and the MLB Players Association tried to argue that players’ indentities and statistics were part of their intellectual property and they were entitled to licensing fees. CBC Distribution and Marketing was turned down for a licensing deal and filed suit against the league. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler found for CBC.
The undisputed facts establish that the names and playing records of (MLB) players as used in CBC’s fantasy games are not copyrightable and, therefore, federal copyright law does not pre-empt the players’ claimed right of publicity,” wrote Medler in her 49-page ruling issued in St. Louis. Even if players have a claimed right of publicity, she added, “the First Amendment takes precedence over such a right.
Chalk this one up for the little guys. This is just another example of a greedy corporate entity trying to squeeze more money out of smaller businesses which would eventually be passed on to the consumer. We like our information free, thank you very much.
Links:
[USA Today]: Fantasy leagues can use baseball stats
