MLB orders action against Baseball iPhone app
updated 12:45 am EDT, Fri July 18, 2008
MLB cease and desist
The Major League Baseball association is seeking action against a free iPhone application called Baseball (opens in iTunes), regarding its use of MLB team logos throughout the app. PC World reveals the app contains thousands of team and player statistics, reaching back to 1888, all the way until the current baseball season. On Monday, Mark Knopper – owner and proprietor of Bulbous Ventures – was instructed by email to remove all logos related to Major League Baseball, and associated teams.
Knopper says he will obey the order, but is saddened that his "labor of love" must undergo such changes, especially since it brought him no income, and was constructed out of sheer amusement. He admits he does not know what to use to replace the logos, but will either blur them out, or replace them with alternative images.
The move is just the latest in a long line of Major League Baseball threats, with the conglomerate blocking sales of Orioles-spoofing Obama shirts, and suing online fantasy baseball businesses in 2005. CBC Distribution and Marketing of CDM Fantasy Sports won a 2006 case against MLB, after the latter had deemed player names and statistics to be copyrighted material. MLB's appeal of the decision was thrown out of court, with the US Supreme court denying its petition.
Boycott MLB
07/18, 01:28am reply
Hit them where it hurts and stop watching games.
aristotles
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2004
Re: Boycott
07/18, 07:37am (2 replies) reply
Right, they're protecting their copyrights and trademarks, so it is reason to boycott them. I'm sure if someone was using Apple logos throughout their product, you'd be complaining about Apple suing them.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
SportsLogos.net
07/18, 08:53am (1 reply) reply
Why don't they cease and desist this guy
http://www.sportslogos.net
boris_cleto
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2002
One thing vs another
07/18, 09:55am reply
These logos are freely printed everywhere. If MLB does not want us to see their logos, I say fine. Lets not watch.
This guy is not making money off their stuff, he is support MLB. But greed is becoming universal.
Maybe he needs to take a picture of the logo in a public place, then it becomes his picture of the logo and MLB can bite d***.
Just a thought.
Eldernorm
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2007
wrong way to do things
07/18, 10:08am reply
he was not making any more and it was more of a hobby for his love of baseball.. looks kinda bad on teh MLB. though i believe in protecting your trademarks etc, he wasn't doing anything to harm them. in fact, i would have hired him to work on the MLB apps. i am sure he would have loved that, and problem would be solved.
Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
Dumb
07/18, 11:02am (1 reply) reply
This has to be one of the stupidest things a sports organization can do. Give me a break, it's free advertising in an industry without competition. What is somebody going to do, start up a new national baseball league and steal their logo because they weren't defending it! Give me a break.
Go ahead MLB, tick your fans off and stop free advertisement. Your biggest enemy is yourself. If the NFL did this, I'd stop watching football. Fortunately for me, I could care less about baseball.
Deal
Mac Enthusiast
Joined: Apr 2001
MLB greeds
07/18, 11:32am reply
I seriously think the MLB white collars need to get laid.
Guest
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
Well, I'd agree
07/18, 12:03pm reply
with you Testudo, if the software was commercial, but this is free software. MLB cannot have my sympathy at all.
I personally would replace as many logos as possible with parodies, such as the ducking fodgers, the wankees,..
Flying Meat
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2007
ugly interface
07/18, 01:33pm reply
His interface is quite drab anyway - the logos won;t be missed too much.
If I were MLB, I would've complained too... it's one thing for someone to borrow your logo, it's another thing to borrow it badly.
cblackmo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 2006
Re: Well, I'd agree
07/18, 01:54pm reply
The software might be free, but the product to use it on isn't. One could argue that their case lies in the fact Apple makes money on the iPod/iPhone in part because of this app.
It's pretty thin, but some lawyer worth their pay could push it.
testudo
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001