Chess24 Wins Case Vs. Agon On Candidates Transmission
Agon (the match sponsor) seemed to me to be fighting a losing battle when they tried to prevent other chess websites from using their (Agon's) live broadcast to receive and then rebroadcast the moves in the Candidates tournament earlier this year. Agon threatened legal action against companies that violated their attempted ban, and then carried out their threat. Thus far one decision has been reached, and while it can be appealed the result was against Agon and for Chess24. (Other suits are still pending.) (More on this here.)
As I wrote on the matter at the time, I'm sympathetic to Agon's position. They are the match sponsors and want to receive a reasonable return on their investment. But games scores don't seem to be copyrightable - and this is a very good thing for chess. Instead, Agon should "win" by having the most entertaining and informative broadcast: the best commentators, behind the scenes video and interviews, special arrangements with the players and their teams, and so on. (The last two should be baked into the players' contracts.) That would be good for Agon and also for fans who are as interested in the match as a spectacle and a competition as they are in the nitty gritty of the moves and analysis.
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