MLB shutting down fan sites?

[Tom]

It doesn't sound unfair, but ...

Why? What can MLB possibly have to gain from shutting down non profit websites? (Atleast, I think they are none profit websites, if they're not, this is post will selfdestruct in 5 seconds)

I could agree if these people where actually getting paid for their websites, hell, they're probably paying for hosting and what not.

So I really don't see the point of asking these people to shut down their websites, even if they are infringing copy right laws with it. If anything, MLB should be supporting these people as much possible, trying to generate fan interest (but that's been said many times before :/)

[ChrisCary]

Originally posted by Max Power
Saw this in the paper today -



Sounds fair, no?

Sounds fair, yes. BUT these sites aren't making profit that would otherwise be money for the team and MLB.
I'd be more impressed if they cracked down on the bootleg clothing industry first.

[Max Power]

Chris - if they have ads, they're trying to make money - which I think could be the issue for MLBP - - - a true, non-profit site would not run ads, etc.

Just like with the owners, who knows if these sites are making money or not? They say they're not - but, the owners say that too - - and, are they telling the truth?

[cubfan33]

Fair? Yes. Smart? No.

Baseball should be supporting these sites as what they are ... cheap or even free advertising and marketing. The scary part is the lack of control - if you suck, these sites will say you suck - but even bad attention is good when it comes to sports teams. For bad teams, the worst emotion to see is apathy.

If baseball were smart

(three minute pause while Will laughs, walks around, has some coffee, laughs some more and then composes himself)

If baseball were smart, they would grant these sites a license for a dollar, strictly limit how they were used, allow no shirts or such unless approved, and give these guys a direct line to the teams media relations office.

[Max Power]

A month later AP picks up on the story - -

Baseball's crackdown on fan Web sites annoys, amuses
By LARRY McSHANE
.c The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) - Back in 1996, 14-year-old Bryan Hoch launched a Web site devoted to his beloved New York Mets. Four years later, die-hard Yankees fan Jim Frasch did the same for his Bronx Bombers.

This summer, one might have assumed that major league baseball would have been completely distracted by the just-resolved labor dispute. But Hoch and Frasch were stunned when baseball officials tried to bench their sites - and those run by at least two other fans.

Each of the four men received cease-and-desist letters from major league baseball, leaving the superfans with a mixture of bemusement and bitterness.

Bob Andelman, whose Tampa Bay Devil Rays site came under scrutiny in recent weeks, responded by posting a disclaimer:

``As you might guess, this Web site is not endorsed, enlightened or encouraged by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, its owners, management, players, or even Mac, the dancing groundskeeper.''

Hoch became the Patrick Henry of cyberspace fan sites, opting for the death of his creation when baseball's proposed changes threatened his perceived liberty of content.

Baseball officials said the legal brushback was just business, nothing personal. They moved against the four Web sites because, baseball claims, they used team s or trademarks to draw site traffic or turn a profit.

``We encourage fans to speak about baseball, and to produce Web sites,'' said Ethan Orlinsky, senior vice president and general counsel for Major League Baseball Properties. ``We're simply asking they do it within the confines of the law.''

The recipients of the letters, dispatched in July and August, have a different view: They say it was like Roger Clemens firing fastballs at kids from the Harlem Little League team.

Ray Kerby of www.astrosdaily.com said Major League Baseball Properties was upset by a display of vintage Astros s in a history section of the site. He first decided to fold his site, but a flood of supportive phone calls changed his mind.

A deal was cut, although Kerby wasn't appeased.

``At a time when major league baseball needs to be reaching out to their fans, they don't even know what their attorneys are doing to undermine that,'' Kerby said.

Hoch said his popular site would still be alive if it weren't for the letter he received.

Andelman, who opened his Devil Rays site before the 2001 season, was admonished because his site (www.emailtherays.com) did not fulfill its tongue-in-cheek promise to forward fans' e-mails to the team management and players.

At issue are trademarks and copyrights. Major League Baseball Properties says it simply is protecting itself from exploitation, but the fans think baseball went too far.

Although Frasch sells advertising on his site, he said it's not enough to cover the cost of operating the site. And Hoch said he sold just $16 worth of merchandise on metsonline.net - including $12 spent by his girlfriend.

Both cases miss the point, Orlinsky said.

``The defense of `our site did not turn a profit' does not address the issue of commercialization,'' he said. ``We're not sending letters out willy-nilly.''

The Web site policy varies from sport to sport. The NFL takes a less aggressive approach.

``To the extent that it's purely a non-commercial site devoted to commentary about the team, we're supportive and happy that fans are excited about our sport,'' says Paula Guibault, NFL senior counsel. ``It's not an issue for us.''

Eric Kennedy, who debuted his New York Giants fan site in 1995, said he's had no problems.

Frasch, whose site draws roughly 35,000 hits a day, still hopes to work out a deal with baseball to keep his site. Major league baseball is insisting he surrender his domain name (www.bronx-bombers.com), perhaps for something like bronxbaseball.com.

``I don't know,'' Frasch says of the proposed change. ``What is this, the Rolando Paulino Little League?''

09/01/02 14:41 EDT

Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten

[Tom]

Originally posted by Max Power

Frasch, whose site draws roughly 35,000 hits a day, still hopes to work out a deal with baseball to keep his site. Major league baseball is insisting he surrender his domain name (www.bronx-bombers.com), perhaps for something like bronxbaseball.com.

``I don't know,'' Frasch says of the proposed change. ``What is this, the Rolando Paulino Little League?''

Is 'Bronx Bombers' a trademark? And even if it's trademarked, doesn't the use of the term 'Bronx Bombers', for nearly 70 years, make it a 'common' term, that can be used by anyone when they damn well please? (There's a law like that in Belgium, ie if a brandname gets used alot to describe something, than it ceases to become a brandname. For example, in Belgium, we refer to ballpoints as 'bics', wich is a brandname, but nobody has to pay for the use of that term because this term is used alot).

What legal grounds does MLB have to force someone to hand over their domain name? I'm thinking this is still fairly new terroritory when it comes to laws and such, so I'd really like to know if MLB can force people to give up their domain names.

[Max Power]

Yup, it is a TM.

Just like I can't have a site called foxsports.com
they can't do that.