Yahoo Sues NFLPA For Rights To Names, Stats For Fantasy Games
By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal
 |
Yahoo Becomes Second Major Fantasy
Football Operator To Legally Challenge NFLPA |
Yahoo Inc. earlier this week sued the NFLPA to assert its right for unlicensed use of names and stats in its fantasy football games, becoming the second major fantasy football operator after CBS Interactive to legally challenge the union. Yahoo in its suit -- filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota, as the CBS Interactive one was -- alleges that the union threatened to sue the portal if did not pay fantasy licensing fees for the upcoming football season. CBS Interactive earlier this year won a district court decision against the NFLPA in a very similar case that relied significantly on the repeated CDM Fantasy Sports judgments in baseball. But the union last week filed notice to appeal that decision, and asserts that it retains intellectual property rights of the players’ names and statistics despite the latest ruling. Yahoo is petitioning the court for declaratory judgments that its fantasy football games do not violate the players’ rights of publicity and are protected by the First Amendment, a ruling preventing the union and related parties from interfering in its fantasy football games, and legal costs. "Yahoo seeks a declaration that NFL Players … may not continue to extract money for the use of this publicly available information,” reads the filing in part. The portal paid the union $841,329 in the FY ended February 28, 2009, in fantasy licensing fees, and has been without a fantasy license with the organization since that fiscal year concluded. NFLPA officials declined to comment, and have not yet outlined the legal argument for its appeal in the CBS Interactive case.
|
Related Stories By Company
|
Related Stories By Sport
|
Bears Deny Rift With NBC
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Gruden Committed To Improving On "MNF"
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Obama To Appear In PSA With Three NFLers
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NFL Forms New Player Advisory Forum
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
NFLPA Urges Agents To Have Clients Sign GLA
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
Bills Owner Prepared To Make Big Changes
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Bears Deny Rift With NBC
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
MSFC Threatens Vikings With Penalties
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Gruden Committed To Improving On "MNF"
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
Obama To Appear In PSA With Three NFLers
November 20, 2009 :
SportsBusiness Daily
|
|
