## Facts

- World Chess U.S., Inc. organized and promoted the 2016 World Chess Championship match in New York under a commercial arrangement connected to the international chess federation.
- World Chess operated an official online platform that provided video, commentary, and a live feed of game moves to subscribers.
- World Chess claimed that, through event controls and posted terms, it restricted accredited media and attendees from retransmitting game moves in real time without permission.
- Defendants operated chess-related websites that displayed live or near-live move-by-move updates of the Championship games without a license from World Chess.
- World Chess alleged defendants were “pirating” time-sensitive move data and free-riding on World Chess’s investment in staging and broadcasting the event.
- World Chess sought emergency relief during the ongoing Championship to stop defendants from publishing real-time moves.

## Issues

1. Whether New York “hot news” misappropriation could be used to stop real-time publication of chess moves, or whether the claim was preempted by the Copyright Act because the moves are factual information.
2. Whether World Chess could satisfy the Second Circuit’s hot-news elements (including free-riding, direct competition, and a threat to the continued viability of the plaintiff’s product).
3. Whether World Chess showed a likelihood of success that defendants were bound by enforceable contractual terms restricting retransmission of moves.
4. Whether World Chess satisfied the requirements for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, including likelihood of success and irreparable harm.

## Decision

- The court denied the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction.
- The court concluded World Chess did not show a likelihood of success on the hot-news misappropriation claim, including because chess moves are unprotectable facts and the claim functioned as an attempt to control factual dissemination.
- Even assuming the hot-news claim could proceed, the court found the asserted facts did not establish the required free-riding and existential-threat elements.
- The court found World Chess did not show a likelihood of success on its contract-based theory at the preliminary stage, given unresolved questions about assent and enforceability.
- The court found the remaining equitable factors, including public-interest concerns about restricting dissemination of factual information, did not warrant injunctive relief.

## Legal Principles

- Chess moves (like scores or play-by-play developments) are facts; copyright protects original expression (such as audiovisual production and commentary), not the underlying factual events.
- A state-law misappropriation claim that effectively seeks exclusive control over dissemination of factual information may be preempted by federal copyright law.
- Under the Second Circuit’s hot-news doctrine, a plaintiff must show, among other requirements, defendant free-riding on the plaintiff’s costly efforts and conduct that threatens the continued existence of the plaintiff’s product or service.
- Independent collection and reporting of factual information, even in real time and for commercial use, is generally treated as permissible competition absent the narrow hot-news prerequisites.
- Preliminary injunctive relief requires a clear showing of entitlement, including likelihood of success on the merits and equitable factors consistent with the public interest.

## Conclusion

The court refused to enjoin defendants from posting real-time Championship moves because World Chess was unlikely to succeed on a hot-news misappropriation theory aimed at controlling factual data and was also unlikely to establish an enforceable contractual restriction binding defendants at the preliminary stage, with public-interest concerns counseling against the requested restraint.


World Chess U.S., Inc. v. Chessgames Servs. LLC, No. 16 Civ. 8629 (VM), 2016 WL 7190075 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 22, 2016)