Not only Yahoo but also Brittens Pools

It has emerged during the week that not only Yahoo but also Brittens Pools could be involved in a Court Case brought by the British Football Authorities over the use of fixture lists without a licence. (see last Sunday's Bulls News)

Neither company has commented on the record about the forthcoming case.

However Leicester based Brittens Pools have retained solicitors Olswang in London to represent them.

Olswang is a 'leading business law firm with a distinctive approach' so it appears Brittens Pools are taking the court case very seriously.

As regards Yahoo the following article from a cricket website - http://cricketnewsicc.blogspot.com - dated last May, suggests what the case could be about.

Google's OneBox has become one of the most useful additions to the best search engine on the web because it provides quite relevant information depending on the keyword the user types. From now on, the OneBox also displays information about the FA Premier League matches, including here results and the next league fixture for the team you enter. Type, for instance, Chelsea and you'll find out that The Blues won the last game with Newcastle with 2-0 while the next game is scheduled for May 11 against Bolton.

Although this may be a very good addition to OneBox, the EPL Talk editors have brought in discussion the license needed to display the results and statistics, license which is provided by Football DataCo Limited. According to Wikipedia, Football Data Co Limited is a British company which "grants licenses to third parties allowing them to reproduce certain intellectual property (such as fixture lists and statistics) owner by the FA Premier League." That's exactly what Google is now providing through the new OneBox update.

"What’s intriguing is whether Google is actually paying the licence fees to display the fixtures. By law, publishers must pay a licence fee to the Football DataCo Limited company that in turn shares the money with the clubs in the Premier League and Football League," EPL Talk wrote in their article. "License fees aside, it’s encouraging news that Google has embraced football and has provided a simple way for users to locate essential information. It appears that Google has selected the EPL first and no other football league or other sport has been tested."

Meanwhile an Arsenal website is one of the latest to feel the wrath of the Football authorites. DataCo recently asked Arsenal-Mania.com to remove forthcoming fixture lists or get a licence. The site removed the list.

UPDATE Friday 10pm: Olswang have issued the following confirmation of their interest in the matters:

We can confirm that Football Dataco Limited and others have commenced proceedings against Yahoo! UK Limited (Yahoo!) and separate proceedings against Brittens Pools Limited (Brittens Pools) for the alleged infringement of their intellectual property rights in football fixtures. We are instructed by both Yahoo and Brittens Pools in those proceedings.

We consider that there is no basis for the claims being conducted in either case. As a result, our clients deny infringing any rights which it is claimed subsist in the football fixtures and will vigorously defend the allegations made against them.

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