Take Me Out to the Courthouse · Who Owns the Game?
The Fantasy League Fight
C.B.C. Distribution & Marketing, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (2007)
Charge: Declaratory suit that a fantasy company may use player names and stats without a license (claim against baseball's internet arm)Court: U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth CircuitDocket: Who Owns the Game?
Can a fantasy sports company use real players' names and statistics without a license?
The facts
A company ran online fantasy baseball games using real players' names and statistics. It had once paid for a license, but baseball's internet arm, which now held the rights, refused to renew it and planned to run its own games. The fantasy company sued, asking a court to declare it could keep using the names and stats without permission. Baseball's side argued the use violated the players' right of publicity and that the company had agreed in the old license not to use the data afterward.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: C.B.C. Distribution & Marketing, Inc. v. Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., 505 F.3d 818 (8th Cir. 2007)
Read more at ipjustice.org. The source reveals the outcome.