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High Court Declines to Hear Fantasy Baseball Case
Joe Palazzolo
06-03-2008

Major League Baseball swung for the Supreme Court and missed. Without explanation, the high court on Monday refused to hear a case between MLB and a fantasy baseball company over the use of players' names and statistics.

The move leaves in place a ruling by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held that Missouri-based C.B.C. Distribution and Marketing Inc. does not require a license to use the players' names in its fantasy leagues.

MLB -- specifically, MLB.com and the players' union -- had asserted exclusive control over the use of the names. C.B.C. sought a license from the league in 2006 but was rebuffed, prompting the company to sue. The lower court sided with C.B.C., finding that the players' names and statistics were protected speech.

Around 4 million Americans were playing fantasy baseball in 2007, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. That translates to a lot of draft parties. And a lot of scratch: About 19.5 million people spend up to $500 million a year on fantasy sports, the FSTA estimates.

The decision could have wide impact. When the case was in the 8th Circuit, the NFL Players Association, NBA Properties, WNBA Enterprises, NHL Enterprises, NASCAR and the PGA Tour all filed amicus briefs in support of MLB.

Jeff Thomas, the head of the FSTA, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Monday's decision was historic for the fantasy sports business.

"This is huge," he said.

First reported in The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
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NHrow7 (1996-2006)