Fantasy sports lawsuit

[maddog60]

I'm still in a league that is pen and paper (been going for 16 years now; I've been in it for 3) and I've always enjoyed it.

Let me tell you what I'm going to do if this actually happens...

It would be very simple to create a sort of P2P client that allows people to submit stats. Create a xml based template to build your scoring system and run the stats through it. It would calculate the scores for the league and then the scores could be posted on a shared website. Since the scores aren't owned by the NFL (if they get them) there's nobody to sue.

Hell, I need to start working on this so I can make some cash somehow.

That'd take about a day to code. Great solution.

[Munboy]

Maybe the days of pen and paper will return.

Good, everyone is too damn lazy. I do all my scores by pen + paper anyways, I don't want to pay for Statracker or wait until the next morning.

CC you're so legit.

About two days late, but...

[HskrPwr13]

Based off of what Lung posted, it looks good for the fantasy industry until they get different judges in there.

[The Lung]

From: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=a.5jCrvS31Uo&refer=home

Baseball Rebuffed by U.S. Supreme Court on Fantasy Rights
By Greg Stohr

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal from Major League Baseball and its players association, leaving intact a ruling that lets a fantasy-sports company use players' names and statistics without paying licensing fees.

The justices made no comment in turning away the appeal, which sought to revive claims that CBC Distribution and Marketing Inc. violated the players' rights under Missouri law. A federal appeals court said the company had a First Amendment right that trumped the players' interests.

The rebuff is a setback for professional sports leagues and players unions looking to control the burgeoning fantasy market. MLB had support in the case from other pro sports leagues, including the National Football League, National Basketball Association and National Hockey League.

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[moochman]

A win for the little guys!
Hope this is somehow the end of it, but there is too much money to be squeezed out of us. These are the ways that the business of sport ruins the product of sport. Somehow the brilliant mind of industry have dismissed totally that should I have to pay, I may not participate as much in fantasy sports. Were I to participate less in fantasy, I would certainly have less interest in real life games. Idjuts.

[eaglesrule]

it seems to me that the entertainment industries (and I include sports) aren't summarily "right" because they say so. Just because you have a claim to something doesn't mean it is to be honored. Where would we be if we honored the publisher's arguments against libraries? Or the networks arguments about cable? It seems the populace in general isn't that informed with these types of issues.

[The Lung]

From: http://www.courthousenews.com/2009/04/30/Judge_Says_NFL_Doesn_t_Own_Statistics_for_Fantasy_League.htm

Judge Says NFL Doesn't Own Statistics for Fantasy League

By JOE HARRIS

MINNEAPOLIS (CN) - CBS Interactive does not have to pay licensing fees to the National Football League Players Association to use players' names and statistics in CBS' fantasy games, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery rules that the information used in the fantasy football game "is all readily available in the public domain, and it would be strange law that a person would not have a First Amendment right to use information that is available to everyone."

CBS sued the NFLPA on Sept. 3, 2008, seeking extension of an October 2007 ruling on fantasy baseball in the 8th Circuit of Appeals. The 8th Circuit ruled that CBS enjoyed a First Amendment right to use baseball players' names and records for fantasy games.

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[dream_017]

YAYYYY!!!!!

[34=Sweetness]

Such a blatant cash grab. Why did they think they would win? Newspapers don't have to pay to run statistics.