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View Full Version : Selling Photocopies of Player Contract



gnishiyama
12-14-2011, 01:09 PM
I brought this up on another thread a long time ago but it was OT from
the original thread so I never followed up with my question.

I own a photocopy of a MLB uniform player contract of a star player. Are there
any legal ramifications of me making photocopies of it and reselling it?
Not really trying to make a killing and a buyer can always turn around and
make duplicates but I was thinking about it to at least recoup my purchase
price. Of course but there's also a moral issue since there's a lot of private
information on it but for now I'm just concerned about the potential legal
issues.

I see Topps contract and other contracts on the market all the time
but many of them are very old and not very detailed. I guess that doesn't
make a difference but the one I own is of an active player. (contract is expired)

sox83cubs84
12-14-2011, 04:14 PM
I don't know about illegalities (though I did stay at a Holiday Inn once) but I wouldn't feel morally right about reproducing multiple copies of a private personal legal document for resale. That's just personal belief and others may feel differently.

It reminds me of a little over 20 years ago, and a buddy who used to go in with me on purchases and sales when I was an active dealer. A female family friend was a flight attendant on the Oakland Athletics' charter flight, and after the flight, found Jose Canseco left his paycheck on the plane. She photocopied it and gave copies to several friends including my buddy. Then out of nowhere, at the next show, my buddy sticks a stack of photocopies out on our table to sell. Once I noticed it, I strongly suggested that he remove them. Fortunately, he complied.

All told, it's something that, if I was the player and discovered this, I'd be calling my lawyer pronto.

Dave Miedema

gnishiyama
12-14-2011, 05:03 PM
Thanks Dave
The moral issue will probably be the second hurdle for me but I
really want to know if there are legal consequences.

Fleer auctioned off tons of cashed royalty checks, many with players
signature and banking information on it.

Any lawyers or anyone familiar with this sort of thing that can chime in?