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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
re the courts, you'll note I said cases never get there, yes?  |
Yes you did, but if Fair Use was that easy to defend one would think more cases would end up in court.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
re why JS doesn't display team logos...you've missed my point, a fan site is not a commercial enterprise and therefore falls into a completely different category
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What? Me miss a point someone was trying to make? I don't think that's ever happened before.
But yes, there is a difference between JS and your casual, and some not so casual, fans sites. My bad for linking to JS to make my point last night.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
I'm fully aware other leagues/associations have the same concerns...in fact NFL lawyers can be even MORE ambitious about some things...it just happens that the MLB is the most ambitious re logos.
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If we can go back to my original analogy concerning H-D's lawyers for a minute. H-D had people stopping at bars that dared had anything to do with H-D's logos posted in their windows. Forgive me, but I'm very passionate about two things in this life, motorcycycles and baseball. And I can tell you that MLBAM has been tame so far in protecting it's logos.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
re mlb.com....that I'd agree....I don't remember the situation, don't remember if mlb.com wasn't as good back then or what the deal was....I just remember being more impressed with that fan's site than the Astro's AT THAT TIME.
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You don't remember the situation and I have no idea which fan site your talking about, but it doesn't suprise me that a fan site might have better opinions/discussions/timely information than does the MLBAM run site. I visit a fan site for a certain Major League team that has family members and even the beat writers for that team who occasionally post. It still doesn't give that site the right to use protected logos
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
re mlb.com vs nfl.com- the primary difference? mlb.com isn't run by sportsline...
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MLBAM uses the same template across all of the team sites. There isn't any reason SportsLine couldn't do the same. The NFL just needs to take control of the content they provide it's fans. It really doesn't matter who the content provider is.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
Certainly, companies have the right to control the use of their trademarks. The primary reasons they WANT that control is so that 1.) others can't make financial gain w/o their approval and 2.) their company isn't being negatively effected w/o their control.
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MLB and MLBAM (while currently private) are still a business, and as such, have every right to protect their trademarks. It doesn't matter what the primary reasons are.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
If a fan site isn't making and selling tshirts, etc, that eliminates #1...and if a fan site isn't bashing or otherwise denegrating the team, that at least mostly eliminates #2.
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If a fan site isn't bashing at least some of the moves it's particular team makes, then well IMO, it probably isn't worth the time to visit. You know this yourself, any site has to have money to keep it going. Just because a site doesn't sell the team logo on a t-shirt, doesn't give that site the right to use a legally protected logo.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
Bottom line being.....professional sports teams are NOT typical businesses- you don't have a bunch of people setting up fan sites about Exxon or WalMart. What's next...should it be illegal for you to use your team's logo as your avatar on forums? Or have more than 4 friends watching a game together at your house?
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While MLB may not be typical in some explanations of the term, they are still a business none the less and have the right to protect their logos. If a site allows you to use protected logos in your avatars, that should be questioned. That just might fall under Fair Use. This should have been covered during the past, what half dozen Super Bowls, but you can have a thousand friends over to watch a game. Just as long as you don't make any money on the venture. It's illegal to show a movie in your home when you charge any type of admission. It's the same way for sporting events. People always get torn up over this during the Super Bowl, but seriously, I've never seen the problem.
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Originally Posted by SiteWolf
I just think they are damaging their own game when they police things this much. If they want to request/suggest changes in sites they think denegrate, even unintentionally, their trademarks that's one thing....but they're beginning to get too controlling for the good of their own game.
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O, you change just a couple of words in that comment and it sounds just like the comments made about H-D back in the day. Baseball is strong now. Strong as it's ever been. Attendance records every day at both the minor and major league levels. And that's with performance enhanching drug cloud hovering over. Fans don't even understand that for Christ's sake. I doubt their too concerned about MLBAM protecting it's own logos.