National Basketball Association V. Motorola Case Study

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Title: National Basketball Association v. Motorola, Inc., 105 F. 3d 841 (2nd Cir. 1997) Facts: Motorola constructs and markets the SportsTrax page that delivers real-time sports information on certain games like the NBA. Motorola is also in conjunction with STATS, Sports Team Analysis and Tracking Systems. The NBA filed suit against Motorola and STATS for misappropriation of “hot news.” The trial judge held that the claims are not preempted by the federal copyright act passed in 1976 and he Second Court dismissed the misappropriation claim and vacated the injunction against STATS and Motorola. The NBA appealed. Issue: Does a hot news claim have to consider the sensitive value of statistical information, the timing in when they post it, and the threat to the existence of the product or service. Holding: Held. Yes. Judgment reversed. Injunction denied against STATS and Motorola. Rationale: The District Court and the Second Circuit didn’t find the NBA’s position arguable and that the games were not protected by federal law. Under section …show more content…

Motorola because it carries the same aspects as Barclays Capital Inc. v. Theflyonthewall.com. They are both dealing with “hot news,” misappropriation of certain information, and copyright infringement. In the 1998 Seton Hall Journal of Sport Law Review, Michael J. Mrvica argues that The National Basketball Association v. Motorola represents a type of intellectual property conflict. Intellectual property rights attributes to someone’s rights in intangible things. The intellectual property rights are in Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution. The thesis of this article being, “The expansion of intellectual property law, and the rights afforded therein, has created complex litigation.” References: "Barclays Capital Inc., Et Al. v. Theflyonthewall.com, Inc., No. 10-1372 (2d Cir. 2011)." Justia Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

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