Online Fantansy Sports 

In this matter Five Indian cricket players and the digital collectibles company Rario have petitioned the Delhi High Court to prevent the online fantasy sports (OFS) companies Striker and MPL from creating and dispersing Non-fungible Tokens (NFTs) with their likenesses and identities.Cricketers Mohammed Siraj, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, and Rario appealed the single-judge’s judgement from April 26 to the Division Bench.

Argument Advanced 

The Defendant claim that there is a common misconception about where fair use ends and confidentiality begins.They contend that a player’s personality is all that can be seen in an NFT that includes their image, and that players have complete control over their character. The OFS platforms may utilise a player’s information to construct teams on those platforms, but if they generate an NFT, that NFT becomes a piece of player-owned property, and those platforms are not permitted to exchange those NFTs for profit without the player’s permission. Defendants have gone too far by making marketable cards. Because a player’s persona, not their performance, determines which cards are tradable.Rario has acknowledged their rights, compensated significantly, and obtained permission to utilise that personality.

The appellant claimed that I am using a bat that Sachin signed as an example. The autograph of Sachin Tendulkar gives it bat value. Similarly, my photograph which is for somebody cannot be pirated by somebody else for trading. They can’t sell it without my permission.

Delhi HC Court Observation

Their request for an interim injunction against Striker and MPL was denied by the single judge bench oh Delhi high court.