Seventh-Inning Stretch · The Paper Chase
Play-by-Play by Telephone
National Exhibition Co. v. Teleflash, Inc. (1936)
Charge: Unfair competition - relaying live play-by-play of games over telephone lines to paying subscribers (suit against the relay company)Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New YorkDocket: The Paper Chase
Does owning a ballgame by itself give the club the exclusive right to describe it play-by-play while it happens?
The facts
The owner of a New York big-league club sued a company that sent play-by-play accounts of its games over telephone lines to subscribers while the games were being played. Its reporters got in with ordinary tickets, which did not forbid passing on what they saw. The club claimed it had exclusive rights in news of its games.
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: National Exhibition Co. v. Teleflash, Inc., 24 F. Supp. 488 (S.D.N.Y. 1936)
Read more at law.justia.com. The source reveals the outcome.