Yahoo inc. among other ventures is a world famous search engine, the owner of some of the most widely used photo and bookmark sharing software and many other web-based ventures. However, one particular venture has landed Yahoo in court once again, though this time it is not for click fraud, but rather it is for their fantasy football game, and how it was advertised in both Sport Illustrated and in banners on the Yahoo Network.

The National Football League’s New England Patriots’ quarterback, Tom Brady, is suing the search giant for the misappropriation of his likeness by use of photographs of the all-star quarterback in action to help Yahoo garner a larger market share on the $4 Billion dollar a year fantasy football industry. In addition, to claiming the misappropriation of his likeness, Brady is also claiming unjust enrichment, which is a from of contract law, that requires the offending party to pay the injured party the profits made without giving anything in return. This in a sense is equivalent to a contract implied in law. Brady’s allegations that “Yahoo’s use of his image connotes a false endorsement and, as such, is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages against the company.” The complaint states the football star is a "worldwide celebrity" who has become "famous for his prowess as an NFL quarterback, his fame is not limited to the world of sports. In 2005, Tom Brady hosted "Saturday Night Live."

It is estimated that Yahoo’s fantasy football site gets over 800 million page views during football season. It is only logical to estimate that a significant portion of users of Yahoo’s fantasy football game also visit other pages on Yahoo. This allows Yahoo to sell more banners, more sponsored listings and other forms of advertisement. Brady contends, that the use of his image has allowed Yahoo to increase the traffic thereby generating greater revenue, and but for the use of Brady’s likeness in a full page advertisement in Sports Illustrated, Yahoo would not have realized as high profits. Yahoo at no time received or even requested permission from Brady to use his image, and that is the stem of the problem.

It would seem that Yahoo has yet another potentially unwinable battle in the court room, not for misappropriating PPC funds, but this time for misappropriating the good name of the NFL’s golden boy.