Morris Communications Corporation v. PGA Tour
United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida
235 F.Supp.2d 1269 (2002)
The PGA Tour (defendant) required media outlets to become credentialed to access its real-time scoring system (RTSS) for posting live golf scores online, and it acknowledged the regulations were meant to preserve a commercial advantage; Morris Communications (Morris) (plaintiff) lost its credentialed status after trying to resell scoring information to non-credentialed outlets in violation of the rules, and Morris sued for antitrust violations. The PGA Tour moved for summary judgment.
Whether there is a violation of antitrust laws when a professional sports association places restrictions on collection and dissemination of statistical information in which the association has a property right prior to such information being in the public domain.