The key question that the court will decide is whether fantasy baseball providers are closer to newspaper reporters or baseball card manufacturers. For many years, Strat-o-matic baseball has paid baseball a licensing fee, while competitor Diamond Mind Baseball does not. MLB has never challenged Diamond Mind. I think the key difference between the two companies is that Strat produces player cards to use in their game, and those could be considered collectibles, while Diamond Mind is just a computer game and uses only player names and statistics - it very carefully avoided the use of team names or anything else that could be considered copyrightable. While the stakes are high for fantasy stats services, the stakes are far more high for MLB. There's a good reason MLB has never filed a case like this (here, they are being sued, not suing), and that's because they know that there is a good chance they will lose and they do not want to establish that precedent; they'd rather keep the issue undecided in the courts. So my guess is that this will never end up in court, because mlb has every reason to settle. Strat, by the way, has always printed cards for non-union players and other players who opt of the union's standard licensing deal without names or with false names, leaving gamers to figure out who's who based on the statistics. This is fine if you only have to do it for a few players, but I doubt it would work if you couldn't use any player names. This is, despite implications otherwise, not at all about the player statistics. MLB would certainly love to be able to copyright them, but the law is quite clear on that subject. It is just about the use of a player's name and the question of whether those names are being used to help sell the product in question.
Major League Baseball is the only organization that does nearly as much as the NFL to prevent its fans from enjoying the game. Hell, the NFL doesn't even allow ESPN.com to show highlights on ESPNmotion. Only interviews... because we all give a damn which athlete is uttering which cliche after the game. If you are out of your favorite team's market, forget it. No radio. No nothin'. Not without shelling out cash. Take for example how MLB has decided that only they have the right to broadcast games online. Nevermind that the local stations (like WBAL in Baltimore) are providing the on-air talent, the equipment, etc... And this is just the next step. MLB is run by idiots if they think this is going to help their cause in any sense of the world help. Fantasy baseball gets a lot of casual fans and one-club fans to watch multiple games (thereby driving up ratings and advertising revenues) that otherwise wouldn't. Wow, I am serious astounded at the idiocy that passes for leadership in sports businesses.
