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Fantasy players wonder where their games have gone.
The question on the minds of fantasy baseball players recently has been: "Where have our games gone?" For the last several weeks most major fantasy operators have not been accepting signups for their games for the 2005 season. Unfortunately, fans have been kept in the dark. Until now.
For the past several years, most of the major fantasy vendors have acquired licenses through the Major League Baseball Players Association ("MLBPA"). Those licenses granted the vendors permission to use certain logos and symbols associated with MLBPA as well as likenesses, pictures, uniform numbers and various other data regarding actual MLB players. While statistics were mentioned as part of the license, most vendors have never believed that anyone, including the MLBPA, could claim ownership in what most people believe is public data. While no court has ever ruled specifically that sports statistics are public information that cannot be owned by anyone, courts have allowed use of player names and likenesses by the public without compensation to the sports figures or their trade associations and have also ruled that mere data is public information. While a license from MLBPA might be necessary to use logos and symbols associated with MLBPA, such a license is apparently not necessary for use of the statistics, which are, of course, the only essential part to sports fantasy games.
Many if not most gamers are aware of the recent agreement struck between the MLBPA and Major League Baseball Advanced Media. The deal was announced on January 19 and - according to the two parties - affords MLB Advanced Media exclusive rights to fantasy games using Major League Baseball players for the next five years. MLB Advanced Media reportedly paid over $50 million for these rights. The MLBPA structured its previous license agreements to expire in 2004. Therefore, as of January 19, MLB Advanced Media was the only company officially licensed to host fantasy games. However, most if not all fantasy companies continued to operate under the assumption that they would secure a sub-license from MLB Advanced Media.
Late last month, most of the major fantasy vendors ceased to accept signups for their games and league manager products. The list of companies who took this action includes ESPN, CBS Sportsline and CDM Fantasy Sports (editor's note, CDM is the parent company of The Roto Times). Other companies delayed the launch of their products. Multiple industry sources tell Rototimes.com that these companies were actively negotiating with MLB Advanced Media on sub-licenses similar to the previous agreements with the MLBPA. We've also learned that MLB Advanced Media refused to negotiate with companies who continued to accept signups without a new license.
Shortly after news of the licensing agreement broke, MLB Advanced Media chief executive Bob Bowman said "Our goal is to increase the number of people who participate in fantasy leagues and the number of games for fantasy players." He added "We also want to listen to licensees as to how they can make this a greater game." Unfortunately, it's very difficult to reconcile those statements with the facts at hand. The companies still on the sidelines represent millions of fantasy players who will, at best, have fewer choices for their gaming needs if these companies decline to offer games in 2005.
Greg Ambrosius, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, is skeptical of MLB Advanced Media's intentions. "For the last 25 years, this industry has continued to grow thanks to the ideas of innovative entrepreneurs. The industry has everything from free leagues and services to pay leagues and services with different features and price levels. It also has lifetime leagues, high-stakes leagues, salary cap leagues, commissioner products, everything you can imagine. Limiting the number of licensees and product offerings doesn't help grow the industry, it stymies it. But hopefully when all of this is resolved, the people who helped shape this industry will continue to be allowed to participate and our industry will continue to grow."
In what appears to be little more than a public relations ploy, MLB Advanced Media has offered license agreements to several small companies. However, the terms of the offer reveal their true intentions. Several of the so-called "mom-and-pop" companies have been offered some variation of the following deal: If they have fewer than 5,000 customers, they can have a license for $10,000 for the 2005 season. If they have more than 5,000 customers, the price jumps to $500,000. Multiple industry sources confirmed for Rototimes.com that this offer has been distributed. As one industry observer said "customer number 5,001 is awfully expensive." The smaller companies certainly can't afford the $500,000 figure, and it does not appear that the larger companies have received the same offer. Brian Matthews, co-founder of CDM, said that the offer was not presented to CDM. The obvious intent is to fence in smaller competitors by punishing a customer base beyond 5,000, a number that MLB Advanced Media likely deems as inconsequential competition. By doing this, it can try to shut down its larger competitors without looking like it is trying to shut out all competition.
Fortunately for consumers, the industry is fighting back. On Monday, CDM Fantasy Sports filed suit in federal court in Missouri, challenging MLB Advanced Media's authority to issue licenses governing the use of the mere statistics, i.e., player name and associated performance numbers, for fantasy baseball purposes. The suit requests a declaratory judgment that CDM's use of the statistics does not infringe on any intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, or publicity rights, allegedly owned or controlled by Major League Baseball. Following the filing, CDM re-opened signups for its 2005 fantasy baseball games. Matthews said "This renegade division of Major League Baseball cannot be allowed to take choices away from the consumers."
In the meantime, the fantasy community is up in arms, as players have been and continue to be restricted from signing up for their favorite games. Message boards on several major sites have been overrun with complaints about the issue. It appears that Major League Baseball itself is taking the brunt of the assault.
Michael Cohen is a longtime player of CDM's Diamond Challenge and other national competitions, and he also participates in private leagues. He said "Fantasy baseball is the best thing that has happened to the majors in years. It's brought them new fans and lots of new revenue already. But instead of celebrating and thanking the industry, they greedily want more and more. Well fantasy baseball doesn't belong to Bud and Co. - it belongs to us. If they think I'm going to take my money to mlb.com or give them one cent, they're badly mistaken. As usual, baseball just doesn't get it."
Unfortunately, Cohen's feelings are echoed throughout the community of fantasy baseball players. Indeed, MLB Advanced Media now wants to claim this industry for itself even though it had no part in creating it. If it is truly the intention of Major League Baseball to grow the game, they'd do well to listen to what their fans are saying.
Nate Ravitz is the Editor in Chief of The Roto Times. If you wish to comment on this article, please email him at nate.ravitz@rototimes.com.
The question on the minds of fantasy baseball players recently has been: "Where have our games gone?" For the last several weeks most major fantasy operators have not been accepting signups for their games for the 2005 season. Unfortunately, fans have been kept in the dark. Until now.
For the past several years, most of the major fantasy vendors have acquired licenses through the Major League Baseball Players Association ("MLBPA"). Those licenses granted the vendors permission to use certain logos and symbols associated with MLBPA as well as likenesses, pictures, uniform numbers and various other data regarding actual MLB players. While statistics were mentioned as part of the license, most vendors have never believed that anyone, including the MLBPA, could claim ownership in what most people believe is public data. While no court has ever ruled specifically that sports statistics are public information that cannot be owned by anyone, courts have allowed use of player names and likenesses by the public without compensation to the sports figures or their trade associations and have also ruled that mere data is public information. While a license from MLBPA might be necessary to use logos and symbols associated with MLBPA, such a license is apparently not necessary for use of the statistics, which are, of course, the only essential part to sports fantasy games.
Many if not most gamers are aware of the recent agreement struck between the MLBPA and Major League Baseball Advanced Media. The deal was announced on January 19 and - according to the two parties - affords MLB Advanced Media exclusive rights to fantasy games using Major League Baseball players for the next five years. MLB Advanced Media reportedly paid over $50 million for these rights. The MLBPA structured its previous license agreements to expire in 2004. Therefore, as of January 19, MLB Advanced Media was the only company officially licensed to host fantasy games. However, most if not all fantasy companies continued to operate under the assumption that they would secure a sub-license from MLB Advanced Media.
Late last month, most of the major fantasy vendors ceased to accept signups for their games and league manager products. The list of companies who took this action includes ESPN, CBS Sportsline and CDM Fantasy Sports (editor's note, CDM is the parent company of The Roto Times). Other companies delayed the launch of their products. Multiple industry sources tell Rototimes.com that these companies were actively negotiating with MLB Advanced Media on sub-licenses similar to the previous agreements with the MLBPA. We've also learned that MLB Advanced Media refused to negotiate with companies who continued to accept signups without a new license.
Shortly after news of the licensing agreement broke, MLB Advanced Media chief executive Bob Bowman said "Our goal is to increase the number of people who participate in fantasy leagues and the number of games for fantasy players." He added "We also want to listen to licensees as to how they can make this a greater game." Unfortunately, it's very difficult to reconcile those statements with the facts at hand. The companies still on the sidelines represent millions of fantasy players who will, at best, have fewer choices for their gaming needs if these companies decline to offer games in 2005.
Greg Ambrosius, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, is skeptical of MLB Advanced Media's intentions. "For the last 25 years, this industry has continued to grow thanks to the ideas of innovative entrepreneurs. The industry has everything from free leagues and services to pay leagues and services with different features and price levels. It also has lifetime leagues, high-stakes leagues, salary cap leagues, commissioner products, everything you can imagine. Limiting the number of licensees and product offerings doesn't help grow the industry, it stymies it. But hopefully when all of this is resolved, the people who helped shape this industry will continue to be allowed to participate and our industry will continue to grow."
In what appears to be little more than a public relations ploy, MLB Advanced Media has offered license agreements to several small companies. However, the terms of the offer reveal their true intentions. Several of the so-called "mom-and-pop" companies have been offered some variation of the following deal: If they have fewer than 5,000 customers, they can have a license for $10,000 for the 2005 season. If they have more than 5,000 customers, the price jumps to $500,000. Multiple industry sources confirmed for Rototimes.com that this offer has been distributed. As one industry observer said "customer number 5,001 is awfully expensive." The smaller companies certainly can't afford the $500,000 figure, and it does not appear that the larger companies have received the same offer. Brian Matthews, co-founder of CDM, said that the offer was not presented to CDM. The obvious intent is to fence in smaller competitors by punishing a customer base beyond 5,000, a number that MLB Advanced Media likely deems as inconsequential competition. By doing this, it can try to shut down its larger competitors without looking like it is trying to shut out all competition.
Fortunately for consumers, the industry is fighting back. On Monday, CDM Fantasy Sports filed suit in federal court in Missouri, challenging MLB Advanced Media's authority to issue licenses governing the use of the mere statistics, i.e., player name and associated performance numbers, for fantasy baseball purposes. The suit requests a declaratory judgment that CDM's use of the statistics does not infringe on any intellectual property rights, including copyrights, trademarks, or publicity rights, allegedly owned or controlled by Major League Baseball. Following the filing, CDM re-opened signups for its 2005 fantasy baseball games. Matthews said "This renegade division of Major League Baseball cannot be allowed to take choices away from the consumers."
In the meantime, the fantasy community is up in arms, as players have been and continue to be restricted from signing up for their favorite games. Message boards on several major sites have been overrun with complaints about the issue. It appears that Major League Baseball itself is taking the brunt of the assault.
Michael Cohen is a longtime player of CDM's Diamond Challenge and other national competitions, and he also participates in private leagues. He said "Fantasy baseball is the best thing that has happened to the majors in years. It's brought them new fans and lots of new revenue already. But instead of celebrating and thanking the industry, they greedily want more and more. Well fantasy baseball doesn't belong to Bud and Co. - it belongs to us. If they think I'm going to take my money to mlb.com or give them one cent, they're badly mistaken. As usual, baseball just doesn't get it."
Unfortunately, Cohen's feelings are echoed throughout the community of fantasy baseball players. Indeed, MLB Advanced Media now wants to claim this industry for itself even though it had no part in creating it. If it is truly the intention of Major League Baseball to grow the game, they'd do well to listen to what their fans are saying.
Nate Ravitz is the Editor in Chief of The Roto Times. If you wish to comment on this article, please email him at nate.ravitz@rototimes.com.
****.
Hopefully CDM can win! I think they have a strong case. Statistics next to names are not copyrightable. Newspapers do not have to sign up with MLB to print stats.
If MLB Advance Media wins out, say bye bye to any free games.
That would be funny if this didn't piss me off so much. What's Yahoo doing?
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