Foley's Sports Industry Team Assists MLBAM in Obtaining Patent

Washington, D.C. office Partner George Beck and Madison office Associates Callie Bell and Chris Kalafut assisted Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. in obtaining a patent for its geotargeting technology that verifies access for subscription-based online content based on determined geographic locations.

Callie Bell drafted the initial application. George Beck and Chris Kalafut prosecuted the application. The patent was issued on February 3, 2009 as U.S. Patent No. 7,486,943. The inventors are Joseph Choit, Justin Shaffer, Christopher Sun and Shadeed Willis.

The Sports Business Journal reports that this is believed to be the first patent issued directly to the baseball industry by the USPTO in the modern era.