MLB loses ruling regarding Fantasy Baseball, effect on Text Sims

[SirFozzie]

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/articles/2008/06/02/in_this_fantasy_fans_come_first/

CBC Distribution and Marketing once had a license to use baseball stats but no longer does. Last year, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the company’s First Amendment rights to use widely available information overrode a Missouri state law protecting athletes’ rights to their own publicity. Yesterday, the Supreme Court declined to hear baseball’s appeal.

The CBC case is likely to have wider implications. Other pro leagues — including NASCAR and business offshoots of the National Football League, National Basketball Association, and National Hockey League — filed briefs on behalf of pro baseball.

Now, I'd say any SERIOUS text sports sim that doesn't have a semi-official "real roster" set at release is a negative for the game. Yes, it's fun to coach fictional players...

However, any game that wants to get to a broader audience, like the folks who get tired of the inaccurate game plays of a Madden, of a MLB2K8, NBA 2K, etcetera, MUST have a real roster set out at time of release to be taken seriously..

I'm curious to see what others think regarding this..

[MizzouRah]

Enter.. ootp9 :)

[Mantle2600]

I bought OOTP 2006 and never really got to play it cause no good rosters were ever really released, I just wanted to play MLB, AAA and AA and could'nt, so this is good news to me.

[Chubby]

It would be great if all you had to edit was team names and logos. Hopefully this means player names and stats...

[Maple Leafs]

Advantage... Tecmo.

[SackAttack]

Yep, this sounds like fake team names and logos for copyright and trademark reasons, but real player names and stats.

[Chubby]

Yep, this sounds like fake team names and logos for copyright and trademark reasons, but real player names and stats.

Which would kill the licenses (especially exclusives like NFL/EA) if it's easy to edit the names/logos (or at least the names in console games)

[kcchief19]

Although I do wonder how far it would extend for games that include height and weight of players. Whereas statistics are a matter of "public" record regarding the outcome of games, height and weight go more to the "likeness" of a player's image.

[Chubby]

Although I do wonder how far it would extend for games that include height and weight of players. Whereas statistics are a matter of "public" record regarding the outcome of games, height and weight go more to the "likeness" of a player's image.

If names are fair game then I'm pretty sure height and weight are too.