This paragraph

1.2 Publishing Tournament Information
Wizards of the Coast reserves the right to publish DCI-sanctioned tournament information at any time (including
during the tournament). Tournament information includes, but is not limited to, the contents of one or more players' decks, descriptions of strategies or play, transcripts, and video reproductions. Tournament Organizers are also allowed to publish this information once their tournament is complete.

seems to me to say that it is not legal to publish descriptions of matches or standings while the tournament is in progress.

If this is true, what is the philosophy behind it? Woud player consent change anything?

To me the paragraph doesnt look like it tries to forbid anyone's coverage. It is there to ensure that WotC has the privilege to post that coverage (among others).

That's true but what worries me is the last sentence: “Tournament Organizers are also allowed to publish this information once their tournament is complete.”

To me it implies that the tournament organizer is not allowed to publish the information until the tournament is complete.

There's nothing here that bars people from releasing information they'd normally be allowed to release; this just makes it clear that WOTC can release the listed information at any time, and TOs can always release it afterwards.

For example:
If the player wants their decklist to be public, it can be shared by anyone at any time.
If the player doesn't want it to be public, WOTC can share it at any time anyway, and the TO can share it after the tournament anyway (but not necessarily during).

What content is allowed/forbidden to be included in a non-WotC coverage?

What is the proper penalty for a coverage man who (un)intentionally breaks the rules?

Does it make any difference if the coverage man is in no way connected to the TO?

What if a player shares some info about another player during the tournament (e.g. via a tweet)?

Is this really an on-going concern? or mostly just speculative curiosity?

First, Philip's interpretation is correct, that Wizards has the right to publish that information, whenever they want. And yes, TOs also may publish that info any time after their event. During the event isn't as clear.

If someone is interested in doing live coverage of an event, they should work with the TO (who can also work with Wizards, probably via a WPN rep) to ensure they comply with any and all rules, respect privacy, don't get in the way, and don't compromise the integrity of the event. StarCityGames.com provides live coverage of their Opens and Invitationals, which fall into that “non-Wizards” category of events; I'm quite certain that the folks at StarCity carefully researched all the ramifications and requirements for doing so, and I'm also quite certain that they worked with Wizards to ensure it was done correctly, wasn't violating that paragraph, etc.

If someone tweets or otherwise publicly posts something, they run the risk of violating others' privacy. In today's environment, that's a very murky area; individual privacy is quite different than it was just 10-15 years ago, before the explosion of mobile, connected devices and social media. However, that's not our concern, neither as judges nor TOs. If Public Pete posts info about Suspicious Sam without Sam's consent, they get to resolve that - not us.

If Tommy the Teammate posts info about an opponent of Timmy (another Teammate), and Timmy looks at that during the match, it's a clear violation of Outside Assistance - and perhaps knowingly, to gain advantage. I bet we can all figure out what happens next. :)

“What is the proper penalty for a coverage man…” There are no infractions in the IPG that cover this.

Mostly, I think we've veered way off the tracks, going from mild curiosity to wild speculation.

d:^D

Actually, it does not appear to be just a “speculative curiosity”. There are plans to run an online coverage for PTQs and other bigger events in my area. So, I will point the TOs to their WPN representative to ensure that everything is crystal clear and no harm can be caused.

Regarding the “error-making coverage man”, is the only possiblity to ask him kindly to stop the coverage then? Or to ask TO to expel him from the venue? I can expect that TO would be in trouble if the coverage continues. What if the coverage man is independent on the TO (e.g. making the coverage for a MtG news server?)? Can TO be taken responsible for the trouble by WPN?

Thanks for your insight!

Certainly, the TO (and/or store owner, if they're different people) has the right to refuse access to anyone that they feel is damaging their event, interfering with their customers, etc. At least, that's the basis on which TOs operate in the USA - local laws will certainly vary.

As for the TO's liabilities, they really need to check with their WPN rep, to get Wizards' position, and also with their own legal counsel, to ensure they're complying with any local legislation that may apply.

The good news: it's not really a judging issue, so you can direct your TO to inquire elsewhere and be done with it.

Thank you. Not what I expected :).

What is the purpose of the paragraph, though? Privacy laws have an effect after the tournament, too, and apply to Wizards also, so why should during-the-tournament coverage by non-Wizards people be singled out?

Also, I don't think wild speculation is something to avoid here. I mean, it is a general discussion forum and I am interested in why the paragraph was written this way - this seemed like the best place.

The MTR are a kind of Terms of Use for participating in a tournament. By signing up to a tournament, you agree to these Terms of Use/MTR.

This section as a whole reads as a product of an “old era” (if only 2 years ago can be called old) where the streaming of events was less common/harder to do and the information of players and the decks they are playing was less readily available and this policy was to cover Wizards producing decklists, interview videos and match reports for Pro Tour, Nationals and GPs but other event organisers should wait till after the event to publish this information.

However things are different now and streaming events is a lot easier meaning that this will start to effect what some event organisers and broadcasters can produce and/or show but as Scott has pointed they have a route to help understand how this effects them.

When a player enters a GP (or a Pro Tour, or any other event with Wizards coverage), they sign a waiver about publicity, their photos and videos, etc. I don't think a lot of TOs have the same procedure at their PTQs. I think the reason of that paragraph may be hiding here.

My local PTQ's all have online coverage now, to be safe we get permission by having the TO email WOTC about this event. We usually get a positive response back very quickly and so long as there isn't monetization on the stream you should be a-ok.