Sports Law

Copyrights and trademarks are often confused, which is ironic given that the primary role of a trademark is to protect against consumer confusion. Copyrights protect the way ideas are expressed.  They do not protect short phrases, titles or brand names. Trademark law on the other hand protects brand recognition and ... Read More

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. Donald Glover sued for copyright infringement over Grammy Award-winning track This is America The long list of plagiarism accusations against high-profile artists grew a little longer in May with the ... Read More

Via Professor Lili Levi, University of Miami School of Law: The University of Miami School of Law and University of Houston School of Law are sponsoring a virtual colloquium on race and the media on September 14, 2021. Here is ... Read More

Rob Frieden, Pioneers Chair and Professor of Telecommunications and Law, Penn State University, tells me that he is looking for someone to replace him as the biannual updater to All About Cable and Broadband, published by Law Journal Press. You ... Read More

By Christopher Zheng. Whether it is land stolen under coercive treaties or looted belongings displayed in museums, the United States’ relationship with Native American tribes has long been defined by bad faith. In July of last year, however, the Supreme Court took a step towards reckoning a long history of ... Read More

Michael Conklin, Angelo State University, has published The Real Cost of Fake News: Smartmatic’s $2.7 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Fox News. Here is the abstract. On February 4, 2021, voting machine company Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Rudolph Giuliani, ... Read More

By Travis Marmara Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News: Entertainment A Kevin Spacey Accuser Tried to Sue Anonymously. A Judge Said No. In a sexual assault case against actor Kevin Spacey, the victim, ... Read More

You’ve probably heard of the “song economy” or what is sometimes called the “singles economy.” Here’s an anecdote to help explain what that means. I asked a 15 year old to name her favorite artist and she did. I said what’s your favorite album by that artist? She named a ... Read More

German Notgeld Notes Well, it’s happened again.  The Internet has spoken—all extra cash is going to be devoted to curing cancer, distributing COVID vaccinations, world peace, child health and…oh, no wait.  It’s going to be devoted to NFTs and getting rich on the latest bubble.  It’s bespoke, not woke. You’ve ... Read More

On January 25, 2021, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order entitled “Ensuring the Future is Made in America by All of America’s Workers,” which directs a broad review and strengthening of governmental procurement and financial assistance policies and regulations which require or provide a preference for goods, products or ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Sports Betting Thrives After PASPA as Law, Tech, Finance Converge, https://sports.yahoo.com/sports-betting-thrives-paspa-law-095504366.html How 'Put That on Top Shot!' Became a New N.B.A. Mantra, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/13/business/nba-top-shot-moments.html Sen. Jerry Moran says federal college-athlete name, image, likeness law by July 1 unlikely, https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/more-sports/sen-jerry-moran-says-federal-college-athlete-name-image-likeness-law-by-july-1-unlikely/ar-BB1gF3Bq?li=BB15ms5q Name, image and likeness (NIL): What it means, ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Yet another reason to cut intermission in theater: COVID-19, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-05-11/theater-without-intermission-broadway-reopening When Covid Dropped the Curtain on Broadway Actors, TV Kept the Lights On, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/12/arts/television/covid-broadway-TV-actors.html?smid=tw-nyttheater&smtyp=cur CDC lifts mask requirement for vaccinated individuals, posing a question for Broadway, https://broadwaynews.com/2021/05/14/cdc-lifts-mask-requirement-for-vaccinated-individuals-posing-a-question-for-broadway/ For West End's Return, Cleansing Spirits and an Aching ... Read More

Enrique Armijo, a professor of law at Elon University, discusses the Facebook Oversight Board's recent decision concerning FB's suspension of Donald Trump's account. He writes in part, Critics on the Right who are protesting as unconstitutional the oversight board’s decision ... Read More

Holding States Accountable for Copyright Piracy — “This paper identifies how copyright law and sovereign immunity came into conflict recently, explains why this conflict matters, and proposes a solution: Congress should enact new legislation that holds states accountable for when state officials pirate the fruits of creative labors of citizens ... Read More

Elizabeth F. Judge and Amir M. Korhani, both of the University of Ottawa, Common Law Section, have published A Moderate Proposal for a Digital Right of Reply for Election-Related Digital Replicas: Deepfakes, Disinformation, and Elections in Cyber-Threats to Canadian Democracy ... Read More

By Michelle Mancino Marsh and Lindsay Korotkin. The Second Circuit recently held that artist Andy Warhol’s use of Lynn Goldsmith’s photograph of the musician Prince (the “Goldsmith Photograph”) to create fifteen new unauthorized silkscreen and pencil artworks (the “Prince Series”) was not fair use. This decision has significant implications for ... Read More

The American Law Institute (ALI), an independent organization of legal experts founded in 1923, is scheduled to consider portions of its copyright Restatement project at its annual meeting June 8, 2021. This will be the first time any part of the project will be considered by the full ALI membership ... Read More

By La-Vaughnda A. Taylor Edited by Elissa D. Hecker Below, for your browsing convenience, the categories are divided into: Entertainment, Arts, Sports, Technology/Media, and General News: Entertainment Michael Jackson's Estate Wins Relief in Tax Case A U.S. tax court has handed a major victory to the estate of Michael ... Read More

[Editor Charlie sez: This post first appeared in The Trichordist.] In case you haven’t noticed, songwriter mechanical royalty rates are about to be set again at a faraway Congressional operation called the Copyright Royalty Board. You may say, hold on–I thought that mechanical royalties were being appealed?! True, but that’s ... Read More

The Media Bureau has announced that it will receive applications for new station construction permits for noncommercial educational FM stations, beginning November 2, 2021, at 12:01 AM, and ending November 9, 2021, at 6:00 PM. More information available here. ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman NCAA faces key decisions on postseason sites as transgender laws multiply:, https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/college/ct-ncaa-transgender-laws-postseason-sites-20210506-4xpnkrrcsrgprf6eibjsq6ozp4-story.html Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signs college athlete name, image, likeness bill into law, https://sports.yahoo.com/georgia-gov-brian-kemp-signs-185657156.html Sports Unions Come Together to Fight for the PRO Act, https://www.thenation.com/article/society/pro-act-sport/ Laws banning transgender student athletes splinter GOP, https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2021/05/05/laws-banning-transgender-student-athletes-splinter-gop-1380532 15-year-old ... Read More

By Bennett Liebman Howard Panter on Theaters. Broadway Reopening After COVID, https://variety.com/2021/legit/news/howard-panter-theater-broadway-post-covid-1234966246/ Sexual harassment allegations pile up at Hollywood agency ICM, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/top-hollywood-talent-agency-accused-of-tolerating-sexual-harassment-misconduct/ar-BB1go932?ocid=BingNewsSearch ICM Partners Los Angeles Times Exposé Toxic Male Culture Fallout, https://deadline.com/2021/05/icm-partners-los-angeles-times-expose-devastating-allegations-toxic-male-culture-fallout-1234750148/ Broadway Performances Will Return This September, https://www.vulture.com/2021/05/broadway-performances-will-return-this-september.html 'The Phantom of the Opera' star on Broadway's return, ... Read More

Perlmutter addresses copyright issues at first House oversight hearing — The head of the US Copyright Office appeared in front of the House Judiciary Committee for the first time since taking the helm as Register of Copyrights last October. Perlmutter discussed the Office’s operations during the pandemic, continued modernization efforts, ... Read More

Photo by Daniele Franchi on Unsplash Listen to Dallas-area music lawyer Tamera Bennett and Los Angeles film lawyer Gordon Firemark discuss the latest entertainment law issues on the Entertainment Law Update Podcast. Click the arrow below to listen now or Click here to listen on Spotify. In this episode of ... Read More

Robert W. Gomulkiewicz, University of Washington School of Law, is publishing The Supreme Court's Chief Justice of Intellectual Property Law in volume 22 of the Nevada Law Journal. Here is the abstract. Justice Clarence Thomas is one of the most ... Read More

Ryan G. Vacca, University of New Hampshire School of Law, and Ann Bartow, Franklin Pierce Center for IP at UNH Law, are published Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Copyright Jurisprudence in volume 22 of the Nevada Law Journal (2022). Here is the ... Read More

Jeremy Horder, London School of Economics, Department of Law, is publishing Online Free Speech and the Suppression of False Political Claims in the 2021 volume of the ILSA Journal of International and Comparative Law. Here is the abstract. This article ... Read More

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights. Reassessing the impact of COVID-19 on the music industry Over the last 12-months of so, all sectors of the music industry have been forced to adjust to the impact on ... Read More

By Laura Michiko Kaiser. A high-profile Nazi-era restitution claim has been making waves since the United States Supreme Court issued its decision on February 3, 2021.[1] Known commonly as the Guelph Treasure or Welfenschatz case, Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp has been reported on extensively as scholars and attorneys ... Read More

Noah Chauvin is publishing Anthony Leaker's Against Free Speech: Shadowboxing with Free Speech Principles in the South Carolina Law Review. Here is the abstract. This essay is a review of Anthony Leaker’s book "Against Free Speech." In his book, Professor ... Read More