Who owns the back of a baseball card?
For decades, it didn't seem to matter. The courts made it clear that cereal makers and sneaker companies needed permission to use an athlete's name or likeness, but baseball's ocean of numbers -- found in newspaper box scores and on trading cards -- generated little controversy.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday January 04, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 1 inches; 40 words Type of Material: Correction
Fantasy leagues -- An article in Monday's Sports section about fantasy sports leagues' access to baseball statistics said Kim Beason was a professor at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He is on the faculty at the University of Mississippi.
Then came sports fantasy leagues, which grew from a grass-roots hobby a quarter-century ago to a multimillion-dollar industry with the rise of the Internet and digital technology.
After long ignoring the fantasy movement, Major League Baseball entered the business in 2001. Last year, baseball ordered game operators to obtain a license before plugging player statistics into software that runs their games. Now, a Missouri company, CBC Distribution & Marketing, has responded by suing baseball in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, alleging that it had no right to demand that operators be licensed.
The case highlights the new types of disputes arising as sports, like Hollywood, tries to wring more revenue from intellectual property in a digital world where information flows ever more freely.
"The question of whether performance statistics are some form of protected intellectual property becomes vital," said Jack Williams, a Georgia State University law professor and longtime fantasy league player. "Moreover, who owns the property becomes vital."
Fantasy fans act as team owner, general manager and coach, poring over real-world athletes' performance statistics before assembling rosters. The fate of their dream teams is dictated by how well "draftees" perform in real-world games.
Sixteen million Americans played these games during 2004, spending about $200 million on league registration fees, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Assn. Some leagues now offer a $100,000 grand prize.
CBC argues that it has a right to use statistics without obtaining a license.
"What we're dealing with is historical data," said attorney Rudy Telscher, who represents CBC. "The minute a game is over, these are historical facts. And, to my way of thinking, the public ought to be able to use historical facts without having to compensate players or the league."
The 1st Amendment protects the right of media companies and others to use game statistics to tell the story of a game from the first pitch to the last out, or from tipoff to final buzzer.
