Inside the NBA with Suzanne Spellacy, General Counsel of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Lynx and T-Wolves Gaming
The Briefing by the IP Law Blog: NBA Star Luka Doncic Goes Hard in the Paint and Seeks to Cancel Mom’s Trademark (Part 2)
As cybersecurity threats continue to evolve, the sports industry faces unique challenges in safeguarding its data, athletes, and events. During a recent panel discussion at the Aspen Cyber Summit, Reynold Hoover, CEO of the...more
The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more
Floyd Mayweather finds himself deep into a lawsuit, as fraud and theft claims have been put against his name. The American boxer and rapper Tyga are now part of a suit by Leonard Sulaymanov, who has alleged the non-payment of...more
The first person charged for violating a 2020 law that forbids conspiracies to taint international sports events through performance-enhancing drugs received a three-month prison sentence. Federal prosecutors used the...more
World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. has settled an antitrust lawsuit brought in CA federal court by rival MLW Media LLC that accused the entertainment giant of monopolizing pro wrestling broadcasts in the U.S., after WWE...more
NBA superstar Ja Morant is currently facing investigations by the NBA and Colorado police after Morant posted an Instagram Live video over the weekend in which he appeared to display a gun while at a nightclub in Glendale,...more
Tattoo artist Catherine Alexander (“Alexander”) filed a lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (“WWE”) and video game maker Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (“Take-Two”) claiming they violated her intellectual...more
A three year legal battle in federal district court between NBA superstar and former Duke University standout, Zion Williamson, and his former agent was brought to a close earlier this month in the Middle District of North...more
In the past few weeks, there have been a handful of news reports regarding active or retired athletes’ off-court business interests, each of which has exhibited a good example of when athletes transition into moguls by...more
Welcome back to the...— Is there anything you want to say to me? ...Are you sure...? ...You forgot, didn’t you...? Well let me remind you... It’s the first anniversary of this often irreverent, at times poignant,...more
Welcome back to the Spotlight and oh-me, oh-my, do we have a full slate of developments in the National Football League (NFL) – and that’s to say nothing of what happened on the field, with the Cincinnati Bengals and Los...more
Athletes and entertainers are people, too. Albeit, incredibly talented people, but deserving of the same treatment with dignity and respect as how we would want ourselves to be treated. For better or worse, sometimes their...more
Today, there are new opportunities to own a bit of sports history. It is now possible to even own a digital collectible of your favorite athlete making a play during a game. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are being used to...more
As readers from last week will recall, we spent some time examining the notion of credibility. One week later, we’re witnessing what credibility (or lack thereof) hath wrought on our subjects. Bob Baffert? Banned from New...more
First and foremost (and not to detract from Sir Anthony Hopkins—lest I incur the wrath of Hannibal Lecter himself), the late Chadwick Boseman should have won the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black...more
Welcome back to the Spotlight: the blog with more longevity (but far less financial backing) than the European Super League (ESL). OK, maybe that’s not saying a lot, as the ill-fated collection of 10 of the most preeminent...more
“Happy” Tax Day to those of you here in the United States celebrating/commiserating (noting of course that certain taxpayers have until May 17 to file their returns this year). Like taxes, this installment of the Spotlight...more
Happy Thursday and a big congratulations to the Stanford Cardinal and the Baylor Bears on their respective NCAA Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournament wins (the latter of which helped yours truly place second in our Firm’s...more
March is over, a new month begins. Congrats on the Final Four to the Zags, Cougars, Bears and Bruins. Opening Day is upon us, it’s time to play ball, And battle for the World Series title deep into the fall. Enough setting...more
If you are a fan of legal decisions about professional wrestlers, tattoos, video games or video games about professional wrestlers with tattoos, 2020 has been an exciting year for you. This past Spring, in Solid Oak Sketches,...more
Despite the ongoing changes to the workplace in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing remains unchanged: federal EEO laws and their role in the workplace. As colleges and universities and professional sports...more
Recently, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft—Jalen Green—shocked basketball fans around the world. Green, like other 18-year-old superstars who are graduating high school, decided how he would spend his...more
NBA superstar and reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo recently filed a series of trademark infringement lawsuits in the Southern District of New York against online retailers and their operators. In the lawsuits,...more
Recently, the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York issued rulings regarding the depiction of "real world" content in digital environments. In both instances the cases were decided in favor of the...more
Although it is generally accepted that tattoos are copyrightable, one of the only definitive judicial statements on the issue came by way of a preliminary injunction hearing in 2011 involving Mike Tyson’s famous tribal face...more