The Bully Meets his Match

When I was eight years old, I delivered newspapers.

At dawn, house by house, on foot, in the sub-zero temperatures of upstate New York, I carried an oversized, canvas delivery bag, weighted down by Sunday morning newspapers. The territory I covered was about three miles in radius. Consider that. Consider that under a driving spring rain or winter snowstorm.

The papers got heavier, the landscape more challenging, the challenge to "get 'er done" before old Mrs. White called the office, complaining her Sunday Times Record hadn't arrived by 7am. Any man or woman, boy or girl who has or does deliver newspapers in "old school" fashion knows the deal.

I, unfortunately, had one additional challenge: a neighborhood bully. Nearly twice my age he shared with me his knife and his philosophy. That was: I delivered the papers and, on Thursday (collection day), he took his cut. The alternative? The threat of getting cut. It was the classic schoolyard bullying scene, one you'd find played out on some vintage after school special from the 1970's.

On Tuesday, a similar story splashed across sports pages nationwide, when it was announced, U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann L. Medler rejected Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association argument that players' identities and statistics are the intellectual property of the league and the players.

The ruling means fantasy baseball leagues - and their operators - can use the names and statitsics of MLB players without having to pay a licensing fee.

It's Major League Baseball's latest effort to monopolize all aspects of the game. When MLB officials recognized there is money to be made in operating fantasy baseball leagues, they immediately launched an internal product to fans, followed by user-related fee structure to non-MLB approved fantasy operators. The strategy was meant to capitaize on the financial opportunity and, at the same time, drain small fantasy leagues out of operating capital and, in effect, out of business.

And, fantasy sports now means big business.

According to Jeff Thomas, president of the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, a reported 15 million to 18 million Americans are participated in fantasy sports leagues in 2006, generating an estimated $100 million in revenue. The revenues are expected to continue growing between seven and 10 percent annually. Baseball ranks as the second-most popular game behind football with 3.5 million players.

These are numbers MLB could not, and would not, ignore. This was a financial opportunity so large, so profitable, there's no way sports most infamous bully would stand by and allow "outsiders" to reap the benefits. How does MLB attempt to get control? Cooperative action? Professional negotiation? No. The same way MLB handles any threatening outside influence: pressure, legal threats, a financial crush, systematically bullying the violator into submission.

MLB effectively reduced the number of licensed fantasy league operators from 20 to seven, forcing smaller operators out of business. As for the survivors, MLB continues to increase licensing fees which will culminate with one or two ways: the company will fold its fantasy league operation or, MLB will begin making large profits for the rights to player names and statistics. ESPN.com is a perfect example of this, paying in excess of $2.5 million in licensing fees.

The fact that MLB's legal team believes they have a case, claiming players names and statistics are intellectual property is laughable. The basic understanding (or legal foundation) of intellectual property is that it "allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all. Intellectual Property include patents for inventions, trade marks for brand identity, designs for product appearance and copyright for material (literary and artistic material)."

No where does that mention control of information - and that's all names and numbers are in basic form. They are not intellectual property, unless you are of the same mind as Major League Baseball.

After a few weeks of taunting and threats and fear tactics, the word got back to my brother Max, unbeknownst to me. On the next Thursday, collection day, like clockwork, Robert Morelli appeared just as I was finishing my route with a pocket full of money. But, on this afternoon, the outcome would be different.

My brother Max pulled up and parked his car. Knife or no knife, the intimdator wisely backed down. It should be noted that my brother Max was older, bigger and in outstanding physical shape. I was witnessing a role reversal, the bully had become the bullied and everything changed. After that there was no more money laundering, no more threats, no more visits from Morelli.

The bully was beat at his own game.

Back To Top

Player Stats are Public Domain, Says Court

Ars Technica

Thu Aug 10

0