This article originally appeared on Rothman's Roadmap to the Right of Publicity
Today, the Seventh Circuit with lightening speed issued an opinion in the Daniels v. Fanduel case seeking guidance from the Supreme Court of Indiana. The case, which I have previously written about, involves a lawsuit by former college football players against online fantasy-sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings. An Indiana district court dismissed the case last September, concluding that the use was exempt under Indiana’s right of publicity statute because the uses were newsworthy and reported on a topic of public interest.
The Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments in the case on February 22nd, and Judge Frank Easterbrook repeatedly asked the attorneys why the interpretation of the Indiana statute was not something better addressed by the state court. It therefore is no surprise that today the court issued an opinion that he authored calling for the state’s supreme court to answer those questions.
The opinion focuses on the meaning of the exemptions to Indiana’s right of publicity statute, and particularly the question of whether the for-profit fantasy games fit within the purview of the statute’s exemptions for uses in “material that has . . .newsworthy value” or “in connection with the . . . reporting of an event . . .of general or public interest.”
The Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments in the case on February 22nd, and Judge Frank Easterbrook repeatedly asked the attorneys why the interpretation of the Indiana statute was not something better addressed by the state court. It therefore is no surprise that today the court issued an opinion that he authored calling for the state’s supreme court to answer those questions.
The opinion focuses on the meaning of the exemptions to Indiana’s right of publicity statute, and particularly the question of whether the for-profit fantasy games fit within the purview of the statute’s exemptions for uses in “material that has . . .newsworthy value” or “in connection with the . . . reporting of an event . . .of general or public interest.”
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