15 Jan 2006
Fantasy leagues may get caught in MLB statistics battle

It wouldn't surprise me, given the current lunatic copyright laws, if the court decided in favor of MLB and the ownership of statistics. It's mentioned here only because it's patently obvious [pun intended] that statistics are historical data, and to note my strong feeling that the court should rule as such. When facts become copyrightable, we're in deep shit.

What surprises me is the intensity with which the ownership of major league baseball continues to destroy the (former) national pastime. Look at the foot dragging on the recent steroid scandal. Remember the strike that killed the series? Now they want to insure that fantasy leagues, which are wildly popular, have to "pay to play". Don't this idiots realize who their fans are and what they're doing? Is baseball being run by refugees from the RIAA?

I can't for the life of me see why the public should invest any fan energy in a sport that may decide to off itself at the drop of a bat...

A company that runs sports fantasy leagues is asking a federal court to decide whether major leaguers' batting averages and home run counts are historical facts that can be used freely or property that can be sold.

(link) [CNN.com]

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