Use of Real Athletes’ Names Banned in Online Game

A court yesterday ruled that the names of 13 retired pro baseball players cannot be used in an online game.

The Seoul Southern District Court accepted the provisional disposition filed by the 13 men against CJ Internet to stop using their names and personal information in the game Magumagu.

Debuting in December 2005, Magumagu is a realistic online baseball game using the stats of some 1,000 real players from the 1982 Korean Series to last season.

The ruling said, “CJ Internet illegally used the athletes’ names for profits. It went beyond the boundary that can be protected under freedom of expression, infringing on the applicants` right to their names.”

jjj@donga.com