A New York business professor called it a “$300 million bar tab to hang out with Jay-Z.” A Delaware judge said that “by all accounts, it was a terrible business decision.” Despite numerous red flags, Jack Dorsey’s company...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. ...more
Roc-A-Fella Records (“RAF”) owners Jay-Z and Damon Dash are clashing over Dash’s plans to sell an NFT (“nun-fungible token”) representing either a 1/3 share of the copyright to Jay-Z’s album Reasonable Doubt (if you believe...more
Well, today is the big day. If you’re reading this week’s installment of the Spotlight, it means that you survived the long and arduous journey of the name, image and likeness (NIL) era in college sports. Indeed, with the...more
Ousted eccentric WeWork co-founder and CEO Adam Neumann is reportedly closing in on a deal with SoftBank that would shave about $500 million (roughly half) off the total Masa Son would pay to buy Neumann’s shares. ...more
Jay-Z and Iconix Brand recently settled a two-year old lawsuit centered on a $204 million licensing agreement. The settlement not only ends the federal lawsuit, but also ends an arbitration related to the suit which Jay-Z had...more
News outlets recently rushed to share the story that lawyers for Jay-Z had successfully halted an arbitration in his “Roc Nation” trademark dispute with Iconix based on findings of racial bias and discrimination. ...more
Normally, efforts to halt arbitrations are dead on arrival if an arbitration agreement exists between the parties. This is especially so when there is no dispute over the scope of the arbitration provision or the claims that...more
After more than a decade of litigation, the Ninth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of an infringement action against Jay-Z for his song, Big Pimpin’, holding moral rights under Egyptian law are unenforceable in the U.S....more
Jay-Z does not want to be in the spotlight- at least not the spotlight of a New York federal judge. This past April, the hip-hop tycoon and Roc Nation, Jay-Z’s entertainment company, were sued by Iconix Brand Group, Inc....more
A Chicago law firm has challenged Jay-Z and Kanye West, filing a class action complaint for violations of the California Business & Professions Code, fraudulent inducement and unjust enrichment in the Northern District of...more
Last month, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a New York judge’s decision to dismiss federal copyright and state tort law claims alleged against the hip-hop icon, Jay Z, and his affiliated companies. Mahan v. ROC...more