Fixtures List on Thursday

[Spaceman Spiff]

All

This is a polite reminder that due to copyright restrictions

PLEASE DO NOT POST ANYTHING ON THIS BOARD THAT IS, OR IS SIMILAR TO IN ANY WAY, A LIST OF SUFC / CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES

This is due to the extensive and rigorously enforced copyright.

If you wish to post the first / last fixtures etc, or key dates or games then within reason this should be fine - but please do not post monthly / annual 'lists' of fixtures. Any posts with such content will be deleted and those who post them will receive a first warning.

Full lists of fixtures can be seen on the Football League Website, or larger websites that can afford the exorbitant publishing fees (such as the BBC or FLPTV - the Shrimpers Official Site).

Thanks very much for your co-operation!

 

[Napster]

I remember them being all fussy about it last season. Ridiculous if you ask me

 

[Stats]

Can you post a link to the football league site where they have the fixtures or have they got all anal on posting links as well?

 

[J]

sounds like utter bollox..

what's to stop me writing out the fixtures individually..
This is completely ridiculous.. and why has there been fixtures on the front page of this god forsaken site many times..

utter sh!t

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Quote[/b] (CS J @ June 19 2006,10:26)]what's to stop me writing out the fixtures individually..

What's to stop you? Potential legal action by the Football League heavy mob.

46 posts with one fixture in each post - whether they are in chronological order or not - will constitute a list being displayed on this site.

The posts would be a waste of time anyway as they will be deleted. Then you would receive a warning.

There hardly seems any point in wasting your time and ours in that way when everyone can just go to the BBC (or other) and see the fixtures.

A link to the BBC page with the fixture list on it would be fine.

 

[SUFCFARAWAY]

How about if for example i post the dates of the Col******r, norwich and ipswich games, some one else posts fixtures for 5 others clubs and so forth until under different topics all fixtures are on here? what happens then?

by the way i am not endorsing people doing this.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

The Football League won a case in 1959 which awarded them copyright in their fixtures. Since this time they have marketed their fixtures and in more recent times additional data to go with the fixtures. This activity is 45 years old and therefore not something which is new.

ShrimperZone could obtain the necessary licence to display the fixtures and this can be achieved in one of two ways:

a) With the permission of Southend United, ShrimperZone could apply to become a "nominated fanzine" at a cost of £1 plus VAT. This would enable SZ to use the fixture list. The danger here is that SZ would appear to lose some of its independance by becoming an officially-sanctioned club fanzine.

b) If the "nominated fanzine" status is not awarded (only one per club) ShrimperZone could pay £266 plus VAT for the necessary licence to display the fixtures.

The Leagues have built a business in their fixtures over the last 45 years which is worth millions each year. For most of these years this has not been an issue for fans. It has only been with the advent of the internet and therefore a cost effective way of fans wanting to use the fixtures that problems have arisen. Hence the creation of the Nominated Fanzine scheme as being an affordable way for fanzines to access the fixtures.

In UK law there is no allowance for "not for profit web sites" - all websites have to be treated the same. It would be impossible for a purely commercial site to be charged and not also charge a so called "not for profit site". Both sites are available to all via the internet and compete for the same audience.

There is no problem with showing fixtures and their results once the match has been played.

(In December 2005, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled that football authorities cannot charge for fixture lists under the EU's database directive 1996. The 1959 case, though, has never been challenged.)

 

[J]

Quote[/b] (Spaceman Spiff @ June 19 2006,10:43)]

Quote[/b] (CS J @ June 19 2006,10:26)]what's to stop me writing out the fixtures individually..

What's to stop you? Potential legal action by the Football League heavy mob.

46 posts with one fixture in each post - whether they are in chronological order or not - will constitute a list being displayed on this site.

The posts would be a waste of time anyway as they will be deleted. Then you would receive a warning.

There hardly seems any point in wasting your time and ours in that way when everyone can just go to the BBC (or other) and see the fixtures.

A link to the BBC page with the fixture list on it would be fine.

f%&king Priceless

 

[sufcintheprem]

If I write a list of the fixtures I'm looking forward to and happen to mention what date they are on, is that a breaching of the rules??

Maybe if I mention all the teams in the league, I'm using their name without permission.

Seems madness to try and copyright something that is so much in the public domain.

 

[TrueBlue]

But was shrimperzone not set up as a company to stop this?

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

Quote[/b] (TrueBlue @ June 19 2006,11:28)]But was shrimperzone not set up as a company to stop this?

Matt - please feel free to correct any of this, as this is my untrained understanding of the legal situation...

We didnt set up as a company so that we could over-ride any patent or copyright law

The one area with regard to legal action, through postings on the boards, that we did wish to set the company up to protect against was direct action against of the 'mates doing it for a laugh' which was what we had before. A defeat on any subject in the courts could cost one of the individuals thousands - and thus mean that we could not take the risk of operating the board when there are clearly people out there who are determined to bend the rules to breaking point and beyond safe in the knowledge that no harm will come to them.

Now that the company has been set up, the company as an entity would take the hit. This could potentially lead to the board being closed down if the company is would up through the actions of one or two posters on the board, but no individual will be out of pocket.

 

[Matt the Shrimp]

Spiff - all looks spot on to me. No corrections needed... and yes folks, sorry about this, but Spiff is spot on - whilst it's OK to talk about first game, last game, Xmas games and one or two notable fixtures, any reproduction of the list would constitute a breach of copyright... something which the FL heavies have threatened us about before.

 

[BrettieAngell]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ June 19 2006,11:20)]If I write a list of the fixtures I'm looking forward to and happen to mention what date they are on, is that a breaching of the rules??

Maybe if I mention all the teams in the league, I'm using their name without permission.

Seems madness to try and copyright something that is so much in the public domain.

I cant understand it myself either tbh, but there you go!

 

[Shrimp in a Kilt]

Quote[/b] (BrettieAngell @ June 19 2006,12:20)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ June 19 2006,11:20)]If I write a list of the fixtures I'm looking forward to and happen to mention what date they are on, is that a breaching of the rules??

Maybe if I mention all the teams in the league, I'm using their name without permission.

Seems madness to try and copyright something that is so much in the public domain.

I cant understand it myself either tbh, but there you go!

As Xabia has said, they make a stack of money out of copyrighting the fixtures. How is that mad? Irritating, frustrating, but not mad.

Just don't come between the Football League and their Cash-flow!

 

[BrettieAngell]

Quote[/b] (Shrimp in a Kilt @ June 19 2006,13:06)]

Quote[/b] (BrettieAngell @ June 19 2006,12:20)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ June 19 2006,11:20)]If I write a list of the fixtures I'm looking forward to and happen to mention what date they are on, is that a breaching of the rules??

Maybe if I mention all the teams in the league, I'm using their name without permission.

Seems madness to try and copyright something that is so much in the public domain.

I cant understand it myself either tbh, but there you go!

As Xabia has said, they make a stack of money out of copyrighting the fixtures. How is that mad? Irritating, frustrating, but not mad.

Just don't come between the Football League and their Cash-flow!

Aye, true I spose!

 

[Shrimper2thecore]

Silly rule, o well

 

[SUBBlue]

Have those fools at the Football League got nothing better to do with their time, don't they make shedloads of money as it is, without sueing people.
Bloody bunch of old farts need pensioning off if you ask me.

All of this is entirely in my own opinion of course, as I musn't dare incur their wrath onto this innocent website.

What a joke!

 

[sufcintheprem]

Quote[/b] (Shrimp in a Kilt @ June 19 2006,13:06)]

Quote[/b] (BrettieAngell @ June 19 2006,12:20)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ June 19 2006,11:20)]If I write a list of the fixtures I'm looking forward to and happen to mention what date they are on, is that a breaching of the rules??

Maybe if I mention all the teams in the league, I'm using their name without permission.

Seems madness to try and copyright something that is so much in the public domain.

I cant understand it myself either tbh, but there you go!

As Xabia has said, they make a stack of money out of copyrighting the fixtures. How is that mad? Irritating, frustrating, but not mad.

Just don't come between the Football League and their Cash-flow!

I wouldn't say that it's mad for them to try and copyright what they can but how can they justify charging money for an events list that, at the end of the day, provides all their income?

 

[Guest]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ June 19 2006,21:43)]

Quote[/b] (Shrimp in a Kilt @ June 19 2006,13:06)]

Quote[/b] (BrettieAngell @ June 19 2006,12:20)]

Quote[/b] (sufcintheprem @ June 19 2006,11:20)]If I write a list of the fixtures I'm looking forward to and happen to mention what date they are on, is that a breaching of the rules??

Maybe if I mention all the teams in the league, I'm using their name without permission.

Seems madness to try and copyright something that is so much in the public domain.

I cant understand it myself either tbh, but there you go!

As Xabia has said, they make a stack of money out of copyrighting the fixtures. How is that mad? Irritating, frustrating, but not mad.

Just don't come between the Football League and their Cash-flow!

I wouldn't say that it's mad for them to try and copyright what they can but how can they justify charging money for an events list that, at the end of the day, provides all their income?

It's an indicator of the state of football these days. If you can screw people out of some money for practically nothing, they will do.

Sad.

 

[Xàbia Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (TrueBlue @ June 19 2006,12:28)]But was shrimperzone not set up as a company to stop this?

Scott, that would mean ShrimperZone would have to pay the full £266 plus VAT to display the fixtures, rather than become a nominated fanzine ...