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News: CBS sues NFL over Fantasy stats...

In a move reminiscent of the CBC v. MLB case over use of baseball players' names and statistics in fantasy football leagues, CBS Interactive sued the NFL Players' Association over the rights to use NFL players' names and statistics without having to pay a license fee. As you may recall, CBC Marketing and Distribution recently won a lawsuit against Major League Baseball on what appears to be a very similar, if not identical, issue. I would love to know what arguments the NFL is making as a basis for still being able to charge licensing fees. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday, September 3, 2008, in Federal court in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

My gut reaction is that NFL will lose this one, regardless of being in a court that has, in the past, been very favorable to NFL players. But if there is one thing I have learned over the years, its that trying to predict the outcome of litigation has about the same success rate as trying to predict the weather. Stay tuned...

Full post as published by Patent Arcade on September 08, 2008 (boomark / email).