In a recentjudgement in Moscow (Commercial Court of the city of Moscow) regarding AGON’s right to limit the right of third parties to broadcast chess moves of a World Title match while the said game is being played, it has been decided that AGON is without sufficient grounds to win their case.
Essentially, if readers can remember, this issue originatedat the Candidates Tournament earlier this year when AGON tried to argue a new line of thinking that was found by a low level lawyer at an important legal firm. The argument , now we can all see, was amateurish from the very beginning. You can read about his HERE. (It transpasses that said lawyer has since been dismissed on grounds of incompetence)
As I wrote back some 6 months ago here on this blog, AGON’s argument depended on being able to prove that there were actual financial damages should third parties decide to transmit the moves without consent of AGON. But in order to prove that, it is essential for AGON to prove ‘ownership’ of said moves. The Moscow judge wrote:
No damage in the form of a loss of profits for the Plaintiff exists;
No causal relationship between the onset of damage to the Plaintiff and the alleged actions of the Defendant exists;
You can read more about the court’s decision HERE. Now the ball is back in AGON’s corner. Rumours have it that they will appeal. BIG FUCKING DEAL! The Carlsen vs Karjakin match is slated to begin in a week’s time. A lot can happen before then. If Kirsan tries to show up and is arrested, then it is ENTIRELY plausible that AGON will move the match to another country…or be FORCED to do so by political anti-Russian influences in America.