Sports technology company sues arm of MLB over pitch-tracking system

(Reuters) - A sports technology company sued the internet arm of Major League Baseball on Thursday, alleging that executives of the service reneged on a three-year, multimillion-dollar deal and misappropriated its pitch-tracking system. SportsMEDIA Technology claims patent infringement, theft of trade secrets and breach of contract in the 92-page lawsuit against MLB Advanced Media, which was filed in U.S. District Court in New York. "Over its 30-year history, SMT has never encountered an executive leader(ship) of a major us sports league behaving as if the rules of civility, professional conduct, us contract law and us patent law did not apply to their actions and behavior," the company said in its legal papers. Representatives for Major League Baseball could not be reached by Reuters for comment on Thursday evening. The lawsuit centers on a contract signed by MBLAM and Sportvision, which was acquired by SMT in 2016, to provide Sportvision's exclusive PITCHf/x pitch-tracking system for three full baseball seasons. SMT alleges that MLBAM disregarded that agreement by finding third parties to provide the same services, refused to perform its contractual obligations and misappropriated its patented technology. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Editing by Peter Cooney)