NBA v. Motorola and STATS, Inc.

Motorola, in conjunction with STATS, Inc., developed a pager device which received real-time statistical updates of live NBA games. Motorola developed the delivery system, while STATS furnished the game data. Intending to market its own such device, the NBA sought an injunction against the duo for using the score data without authorization from the league. The New York district court held that while live game data is not copyrightable under the federal statute, it is nevertheless protected under state law. As a result, the court issued an injunction against Motorola, STATS, and AOL (which posted similar STATS data in an online format). On appeal, however, the Second Circuit reversed the lower court, lifting the injunction. The appellate court reasoned that because the federal copyright statute forbids ownership of purely factual data, then such protection could not be had from resort to the common law of the states (except for in a narrow set of circumstances which did not apply to the NBA dispute). The upshot of this decision is that content providers will enjoy greater freedom to use live game stats unburdened by the need to pay excessive licensing fees to the major leagues.

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NBA v. Motorola and STATS, Inc. Decision