Lawsuit Over Banning of Photographs at Illinois High School Football Games

Pantagraph reports:

The Illinois Press Association asked a Sangamon County judge on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit filed earlier this month by the Illinois High School Association that claims it has exclusive rights to sell photographs taken at state high school athletic events.

The IPA also filed a motion for an extension of time, until Jan. 15, to file an amended complaint against the IHSA.

Dave Bennett, executive director of the IPA, said the IPA board met Dec. 7 and came away more determined to challenge the IHSA’s practice of limiting newspapers’ access to public high school athletic events unless the newspapers agree they won’t sell their own photos.

The Bloomington-based IHSA has had a licensing agreement with Visual Image Photography since 2001. Its lawsuit claims newspapers around the state refused to stop selling photographs from state events to third parties, which is a violation of IHSA policy.

Bennett said the IPA does not believe the VIP contract gives the IHSA the right to exclude newspapers from equal access, or to control the use of news photos.

“The IHSA is trying to control something that it doesn’t own,” Bennett said. “And if we don’t comply, they take away our Constitutional rights to equal access to public events. We can’t sit on the sidelines and let that happen. It’s not up to the IHSA to determine what news is and how it is distributed.”

Does a public school evident have "property rights"? It would be better getting rid of public education.