Debate over baseball stats isn't a fantasy.(SPORTS)

0 Comments | Washington Times, The, February, 2005

Byline: Eric Fisher, THE WASHINGTON TIMES Is a box score line like "HR - Pujols (1)" the intellectual property of Major League Baseball? The answer lies at the heart of a legal dispute that could shape the future of online fantasy sports leagues, a fast-growing activity pursued by an estimated 15million people nationwide.

MLB recently was minted as the dominant player in online fantasy baseball leagues through a five-year deal with the players union worth more than $50million, Last week it denied a stand-alone sublicense to St. Louis-based CDM Fantasy Sports, a company that runs its own leagues as well as provides backing for leagues run through various media outlets. That refusal from MLB, CDM says, included an assertion that the company would not even...