Supreme Court Sports News: Today, the first Monday in October, marks the beginning of the Supreme Court's 2004 term. The court heard arguments in the federal sentencing guidelines case and denied cert in a number of other cases. One of these cases was Morris Communications v. PGA Tour. In that case, the 11th Circuit ruled that the PGA Tour can restrict the selling or posting of real-time scores from its events, unless the publisher purchases a license from the Tour. The Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case means that the circuit court's opinion stands.



You can read my earlier posting on the 11th Circuit opinion here. The court decided the case on anti-trust grounds, ruling that the scores are a product that the PGA Tour has a right to control. The court did not reach issues of copyright or the 1st Amendment.

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