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But when unofficial sites use official logos, game footage and images - as many do, including Zakowicz' - copyright questions arise.
"It's difficult to police, but we are doing the best we can," said Michael Gilbert, Sabres' director of public relations.
Buffalo attorney Steven Fox, who specializes in First Amendment and copyright laws, said the increase in Web sites and blogs is creating a new wave of legal issues.
Fox has worked with the Buffalo Bills on copyright infringement cases.
"With YouTube, MySpace and Google, this is very much in the forefront," he said.
Fox drew a parallel between sports teams and the ongoing battle the recording industry is having with people who are illegally downloading songs.
The NHL, in November, signed a video content-sharing agreement with YouTube and GoogleTube.
The league's partnership with the Versus network allows for live NHL games to be shown on www.sports.yahoo.com.
"The same thing that happened with music is going to happen with video," Fox said.
"What these Web sites are doing is copyright shoplifting, which is really no different than shoplifting from a store."
Fox did say that when Web site operators get a warning letter from a lawyer or law firm about copyright infringements, most tend to stop the practice.
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