Sports Law

By Laura Michiko Kaiser. MSCHF (pronounced “mischief”) is a startup creative collective based in Brooklyn that produces artworks and designs in various formats including: social media channels, apps, browser plugins, and physical products. The collective, founded and led by Gabriel Whaley, is made up of artists, designers, and product developers ... Read More

By La-Vaughnda A. Taylor Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Entertainment Twitch 'Disappointed' With Music Publishing Industry as Its Hit with 1,000 Copyright Infringement Claims Amazon-owned live streaming platform Twitch told its users that it has been sent a "batch" of new copyright infringement claims from music publishers. The company ... Read More

The White House Correspondents' Association has announced the Carter Holland Memorial Scholarship at the University of Tennessee. The scholarship honors the late Carter Holland, son of Lucie and Steven Holland. Steven Holland is a well-known journalist who has covered the ... Read More

The Latest episode of my Entertainment Law podcast, Entertainment Law Update, is now available for your enjoyment. Listen here, or subscribe and download in your favorite podcast listening app.  Show notes are located at www.entertainmentlawupdate.com/133 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ... Read More

It will be old news to MTP readers, but Spotify has yet another feature that smacks of pay to play, or what is sometimes called “payola.” We’ve seen all of this before in a few different manifestations over the years, but this time a couple of Congressmen sent a letter ... Read More

Mailyn Fidler, Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, is publishing The New Editors: Refining First Amendment Protections for Internet Platforms in the Notre Dame Law School Journal on Emerging Technology (2021). Here is the abstract. (Forthcoming) This ... Read More

Anett Pogácsás, Peter Pazmany Catholic University, has published András Koltay: New Media and Freedom of Expression: Rethinking the Constitutional Foundations of the Public Sphere (Book Review) at 8 Hungarian Yearbook of International Law and European Law 425 (2020). Here is ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman NFL says it will end 'race-norming' in concussion settlement, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/06/03/nfl-concussion-settlement-race-norming/ NFL to Drop Race-Based Measures in Concussion Settlement, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/sports/football/nfl-concussion-settlement-race.html 'Boxing is a mess': the darkness and damage of brain trauma in the ring, https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/may/27/time-to-find-out-who-cares-boxing-brain-damage-tris-dixon Can State Government Pressure on CDI Save Arlington?, https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/250490/can-state-government-pressure-on-cdi-save-arlington Former Gov. Edgar ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Broadway Theater Owner Cited by OSHA in Stagehand's Fatal Fall, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/theater/death-winter-garden-theater-shubert-organization.html Shubert Organization Fined Following Death of Stagehand, https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Shubert-Organization-Fined-Following-Death-of-Stagehand-at-the-Winter-Garden-Theatre-20210602 The heat is on for theater across American to make its comeback pop, https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/britney-shakespeare-nationals/2021/06/03/781ac792-c407-11eb-9a8d-f95d7724967c_story.html A Chance to Fix the Tonys, and So Many Things to Fix, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/02/theater/tony-awards-broadway-fix.html ... Read More

Supreme Court Grants Cert in Unicolors v. H&M to Consider Whether Section 411 Includes Intent-to-Defraud Requirement — The first copyright case to land on the Supreme Court’s 2022 docket arrived this week, with the Court agreeing to decide when copyright registrations with inaccurate information can be invalidated by courts. Street Artist Kaves ... Read More

It is difficult to understand the reasons why, but the current proposal for mechanical royalty rates before the Copyright Royalty Board do not include an index for inflation.  Until a 2006 it was customary to include a rate increase for mechanical royalties, often indexed to the Consumer Price Index (not the ... Read More

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. Beach Boy David Marks the latest artist to call foul on international streaming royalty deductions. US singer songwriter Lenny Williams has been denied class action certification in a case brought ... Read More

In April, the Supreme Court capped a long running and closely watched lawsuit between Google and Oracle stemming over Google’s copying of elements of Java code owned by Oracle into its Android software platform. Justice Breyer penned the 6-2 opinion, which left intact the Federal Circuit’s 2014 decision holding that ... Read More

By Audrey Glover-Dichter Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News: Entertainment Betty, Inc. v. Pepsico, Inc. The Second Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment in this case. The Court reviewed Betty Inc.'s claims on ... Read More

The Final Formation: U.S. Forces Cemetary, Normandy, France “And what sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory? Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man at arms. My estimate ... Read More

Matthew Schafer, ViacomCBS; Fordham University School of Law, has published Does Houchins Matter? Here is the abstract. Houchins v. KQED, Inc. is an enigma. The issue presented by the case was whether the press had a special right of access ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Broadway productions now have more options for reopening dates, https://broadwaynews.com/2021/05/28/broadway-productions-now-have-more-options-for-reopening-dates/ Places please: A new relief fund wants to help artists move back to New York, https://www.crainsnewyork.com/small-business/relief-fund-wants-help-artists-move-back-new-york?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D47347047419039250343716084342296370731%7CMCORGID%3D138FFF2554E6E7220A4C98C6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1621914781&CSAuthResp=1%3A%3A748424%3A23%3A24%3Asuccess%3ACBB5DF22864D67EAC2F858A678EEBF6F Actors' Equity Association Urges All States To Continue Federal Pandemic Unemployment Insurance, https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Actors-Equity-Association-Urges-All-States-To-Continue-Federal-Pandemic-Unemployment-Insurance-20210524 Broadway Restart Accelerates as 'Hadestown' Plans Its ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Bob Baffert, A Commanding Presence At Belmont Stakes, Is Barred From The Racetrack This Year, https://www.forbes.com/sites/christianred/2021/05/22/bob-baffert-a-commanding-presence-at-belmont-stakes-is-barred-from-the-racetrack-this-year/?sh=7af028c3294f Kentucky Derby Operator Hit With Suit Over Horse Doping, https://www.law360.com/articles/1388135/kentucky-derby-operator-hit-with-suit-over-horse-doping Wisconsin lawmakers consider banning transgender athletes, https://wislawjournal.com/2021/05/26/wisconsin-lawmakers-consider-banning-transgender-athletes/ Ohio state senator to introduce name, image and likeness bill, https://theathletic.com/news/ohio-state-senator-to-introduce-name-image-and-likeness-bill/8nMDRXPKFfXh The Alston ... Read More

Instagram Embed Feature Sparks Copyright Suit From Users — “Two users on Wednesday sued Instagram, claiming its embed feature is designed to flout copyright laws to make money for its parent, Facebook. ‘Instagram misled the public to believe that anyone was free to get on Instagram and embed copyrighted works ... Read More

From First Amendment Watch: Video of the May 19th FAW panel discussion, Reclaiming the Narrative: Defamation Lawsuits and the 2020 Election, featuring Lyrissa Lidsky, Jonathan Peters, and RonNell Anderson Jones. Link here. ... Read More

By Marie Kessel. Lipsky v. Spanierman Gallery, LLC et al, No. 154805/2020, N.Y. Slip Op. 30727 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. March 10, 2021). When creating a visual artwork, the artist must make some key decisions from the conception of the work to its finished product. Such decisions can include the design ... Read More

Laura Donohue, Georgetown University Law Center, has published New Media, Free Expression, and the Offences Against the State Acts in The Offences Against the State Act 1939 at 80: A Model Counter-Terrorism Act? 163 (Mark Coen ed., Oxford: Hart Publishing ... Read More

[Editor Charlie sez: This post first appeared on The Trichordist. It is a letter from a coalition of US and international songwriter groups to the Copyright Royalty Board about the frozen mechanical issue. If you want to write your own comment to the Copyright Royalty Board about frozen mechanicals, send ... Read More

By Angela Peco Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News: Entertainment Brown v Netflix The Second Circuit's ruling affirms that the defendants' use of plaintiff's song ("Fish Sticks n' Tater Tots?) in the documentary ... Read More

[Editor Charlie sez: It should be obvious at this point that artists and session players and vocalists are getting reamed in the streaming economy. The international musicians unions are trying to do something about it. This is an important statement from the International Federation of Musicians with their manifesto on ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman UConn women's rowing team gets day in court in request for temporary restraining order to keep school from cutting program, https://www.courant.com/sports/college/hc-sp-uconn-womens-rowing-temporary-restraining-order-hearing-20210521-qbyqwnos3rhpjnshf5ixqgblie-story.html Former Notre Dame swim coach sues university for gender discrimination, http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/publicsafety/former-notre-dame-swim-coach-sues-university-for-gender-discrimination-title-ix-violations/article_a42a7c00-b8d2-11eb-849f-33ef7aef2b5f.html Stanford reverses sports cuts after lawsuits and pressure from athletes, https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/18/stanford-reverses-sports-cuts-lawsuits/ Ohio State caught ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Theaters, ignore anti-vaxxers. Require proof of vaccination, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-05-19/anti-vaxxer-covid-vaccine-passports-theater Billy Porter Reveals He Has Been H.I.V. Positive for 14 Years, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/19/arts/billy-porter-hiv-positive.html?smid=tw-nyttheater&smtyp=cur SPOTCO DROPS 'LEHMAN TRILOGY' FROM LAWSUIT AGAINST RUDIN, http://broadwayjournal.com/rudin-free-lehman-trilogy-dropped-from-spotco-suit-clearing-path-to-opening/ Green Shoots in April 2021?, https://trgarts.com/blog/insights-report-may-2021 Scott Rudin Accuser Speaks Against Bullying On Hollywood Commission Panel, https://variety.com/2021/biz/news/scott-rudin-accuser-andrew-coles-panel-workplace-harassment-bullying-1234977876/ ... Read More

Stages of Grief: What the Pandemic Has Done to the Arts — A compelling and devestating read from William Deresiewicz. “What has been happening across the arts is not a recession. It is not even a depression. It is a catastrophe. There is another thing the rest of us, the ... Read More

By Clara Cassan and Center for Art Law. On April 29-30, 2021, the Federal Bar Association hosted its annual Art Law & Litigation Conference with a virtual twist. Co-chaired by Raymond Dowd and L. Elizabeth Dale, of Dunnington, Bartholow & Miller LLP (NY), this two-day program welcomed art law experts ... Read More

The COVID Travel Ban, Significant Consulate Backlogs, and Other Current Issues For Non-U.S. Artists By Brian Taylor GoldsteinSorry for the long delay since my last post, but, well…it’s been an interesting year, to say the least. Things are improving, but 2021 still needs more rehearsal time to work the kinks ... Read More