Indiana Supreme Court
Daily Fantasy Sites Don’t Violate College Athlete Rights
Written November 5, 2018
The Indiana Supreme Court, on October 24, 2018, answered a certified question from the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on whether online for-profit fantasy-sports need the consent of players whose names, pictures, and statistics are used in the contests, in advertising the contests, or both. Daniels v. FanDuel Inc., Ind., 10/24/18.
The Seventh Circuit is hearing an appeal from three former college football players who sued the popular daily fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the websites do not violate the players’ intellectual property rights under Indiana state law because the sites benefit from an exception to Indiana’s right of publicity statute covering “newsworthy” information.
The Seventh Circuit is hearing an appeal from three former college football players who sued the popular daily fantasy sports sites FanDuel and DraftKings. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that the websites do not violate the players’ intellectual property rights under Indiana state law because the sites benefit from an exception to Indiana’s right of publicity statute covering “newsworthy” information.