Nearly 11 months after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from Major League Baseball Advanced Media and the MLB Players’ Association in the CDM case — thus allowing CDM to continue using players’ names and stats without having to pay a licensing fee — the fantasy sports industry received more good news Tuesday.
Referring to the CDM case as “controlling” law and citing the NFL Players’ Association’s “numerous contacts with Minnesota,” a U.S. District Court judge in Minnesota granted CBS Interactive’s motion of partial summary judgment in its case against the NFLPA and Players Inc. and denied the NFLPA’s attempt to move the litigation from Minnesota to Florida.
As you’ll recall, in Sept. 2008, CBS Interactive sued the NFLPA, alleging that it was being wrongly pressured into paying licensing fees to operate its fantasy football games. The CBS suit was filed in Minnesota, a state which is part of the Eighth Circuit for the U.S. Court of Appeals, the same venue in which the CDM case was decided.
“This victory further cements the autonomy of fantasy sports operators from sports leagues and player unions,” said newly elected Fantasy Sports Trade Association President Paul Charchian. “The ruling ensures that the industry’s hundreds of fantasy companies will continue creating wide ranging products to serve the needs of fantasy players.
“Fantasy sports provide significant advantages to the leagues and players unions, creating a wide variety of tangible and intangible benefits. As has always been the case, the FSTA welcomes the opportunity to work with each of the leagues and their players’ associations.”
According to Glenn Colton, a partner in the New York office of Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal who authored amicus briefs on behalf of the FSTA in the CDM case, the ruling is “yet another victory for fantasy sports players and businesses, and most importantly for all of our First Amendment freedoms.”
“The decision is yet another brick in the wall that will insure that the millions of fantasy sports players continue to be able to enjoy the game and the innovations and improvements that come with freedom to operate and invent without fear of players associations swooping in at the 11th hour and wresting control of the benefits of those inventions and innovations,” said Colton.
As to what will happen next in the case, Colton says that he hopes the leagues and players’ associations react to the ruling by demonstrating an increased willingness to work with the fantasy sports industry.
Tuesday’s ruling and its ramifications for the fantasy sports industry will be a hot topic at the FSTA Summer Conference in Chicago on June 18 and 19. Register for the conference ($349 for FSTA members/$499 for non-members before May 18) by clicking here.
The complete ruling from the United States District Court – District of Minnesota on the Memo and Order regarding CBS Interactive Inc. and National Football League Players Association, Inc. is now available for FSTA members in the download area of our website. To download, log in to your account through this link or at the top of the screen and select “Member Resources.” The file, an Adobe PDF, is located in the section labeled “Lawsuits, Laws, Briefs, and Rulings.” Non-FSTA members can download the document by clicking here.