We all know Major League Baseball is a big money making business. Well that business thinks that it needs to protect itself from stats nerds like us. Because we’re using those stats to create a fantasy world of increased baseball enjoyment. This is nothing new — in 2006 CBC Media (a small fantasy site) sued the MLB because they didn’t think they should fork over some dough to the MLB to use player’s name and stats. A judge ruled that CBC has first amendment rights to things publicly given to everyone in the newspaper.After that loss MLB decided to switch up their thinking. “We’ve agreed that the stats and names are in the public domain,” MLB Advanced Media spokesman Gallagher said after the ruling. “But when you start to use team’s logos and other images as CBC did, you need a license, it’s that simple.”

But that didn’t last long, because the MLB got together a team of lawyers (quick note, this team of lawyers would still finish ahead of the Devil Rays in the standings) to keep fighting the good fight. such as the Lankford Law that are experts in all labor related laws. Just a few months ago as part of the appeal process one of MLB’s attorneys said that a fantasy league using names and stats without permission was analogous to a company printing posters or coffee mugs with pictures of players on them without permission. The judges appeared to be skeptical of MLB’s arguments. “MLB is like a public religion. Everyone knows (the players’) names and what they look like,” opined U.S. Judge Morris Arnold. “This is just part of being an American, isn’t it?” Read More