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Studios and Streaming Join Forces to Take On TickBox
Streaming companies and major film studios have joined forces to sue TickBox, the company behind TickBox TV, a device that offers its users easy access to free online content. The complaint filed on Friday, October 13 by companies such as Universal, Disney, Hulu and Netflix, has alleged that TickBox sells “illegal access to Plaintiff’s copyrighted content” by encouraging its users to use TickBox TV to find a way to view copyrighted content for free. Though TickBox has written a disclaimer on the bottom of their home page stating that “”TickBox TV should not be utilized to download or stream any copyrighted […]
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Keep the Ball Off Your Eye
Major League Baseball and the Chicago Cubs have been sued by John “Jay” Loos after he was hit by a foul ball in August at Wrigley Field. Seated along the first-base line, Loos was hit in the left eye and subsequently removed from Wrigley by stretcher and ambulance. Six weeks after the injury, Loos has no vision in his left eye, has had three surgeries, is planning for two more, and is at risk of losing his eye. Ballparks have netting behind home plate to protect fans from foul balls. However, most ballparks – including Wrigley – have not extended netting […]
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Weinstein Considers Taking Legal Action Against New York Times
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has indicated, via his attorney Charles Harder, that he is considering taking legal action against the New York Times (“NYT”) over the paper’s recent story detailing Weinstein’s history of alleged sexual misconduct. According to an email sent by Harder to The Hollywood Reporter, Harder claims that the NYT’s story “relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses. We sent the [NYT] the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish.” The email also noted that all proceeds from […]
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Nintendo says “Mama Mia!” to Tokyo’s Real-Life Mario Kart
Tourists hoping to visit the Mushroom Kingdom may have to make other plans, after Nintendo filed a lawsuit against a Japanese company offering real-life Mario Kart inspired tours of Tokyo. According to the New York Times, Nintendo is claiming that the rental company, which operates under the name of MariCar in English, violates Nintendo’s intellectual property by profiting from Nintendo characters without Nintendo’s permission. MariCar disputed Nintendo’s claims, and insisted that the company’s activities do not violate Nintendo’s copyright. The company rents karts and offers driving tours of Tokyo, and as their website claims, their services are “in no way a […]
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Empowering Young Arab Athletes, One Nike Pro Hijab At A Time
On March 7, 2017, Nike announced its expansion into a new market with the Pro Hijab. The product is designed for Muslim female athletes and will be available for sale in spring 2018. CNN Money reports the design process took 13 months, resulting in a lightweight, breathable design that still adheres to religious standards. According to the New York Times, a group of athletes including United Arab Emirates figure skater Zahra Lari, United Arab Emirates Olympic weight lifter Amna Al Haddad, and triathlete and runner Manal Rostom who currently lives in Dubai, have all tested and praised the Nike Pro […]
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Family Feud: Los Angeles Lakers’ Edition
Apparently the turmoil embroiling by the Los Angeles Lakers doesn’t just stay on the court. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, a bitter family feud rages behind the scenes over control of the legendary franchise. On March 3rd, 2017, part owner and President of the Los Angeles Lakers, Jeanie Buss, was granted a temporary restraining order to prevent her brothers Jim and Johnny from electing a new board of directors and ousting her as controlling owner. According to NBC Sports, Jeanie relieved her brother Jim of his duties as Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations on February 21st, 2017. […]
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Counterfeit Hamilton Merch Takes Final Bow
On February 22, Hamilton: An American Musical producer Jeffrey Seller announced that Hamilton Uptown, the musical’s production company, settled a trademark and copyright infringement suit with online retail platforms SunFrog and GearLaunch. Hamilton Uptown and Creative Goods Merchandise filed the complaint against SunFrog, GearLaunch, and several John Doe defendants in October in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the complaint alleged that the companies allowed the John Does to sell counterfeit Hamilton merchandise through their websites. Creative Goods Merchandise, the co-plaintiff, has an exclusive sub-license to use the famous Hamilton star-logo […]
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When Morality and Copyright Collide
As reported by Complete Music, in early March 2017, relatives of the late Egyptian composer Baligh Hamdi filed new papers in their ongoing appeal of a moral rights claim against music icons Jay-Z and Timbaland. The case began in 2007, when Hamdi’s family alleged that Jay-Z and Timbaland’s sampling of Hamdi’s music in their 2000 smash hit, “Big Pimpin,” amounted to copyright infringement. Although Timbaland had licensed the sample from EMI and its Egyptian partner, Hamdi’s family argued that those companies did not actually have the right to license Hamdi’s work. Furthermore, Hamdi’s family claimed that, even if other parties had control of […]
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The Future of Sports is Virtual
While fans of traditional sports may view eSports with some skepticism, the business people behind traditional sports leagues appear to see a promising investment opportunity. For example, in early February, the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, the creator of the NBA 2K video game franchise, announced the launch of an eSports league with teams controlled by the various NBA teams, according to Law360. Experts caution that this new endeavor into eSports will be a legal “Wild West”—due to the unique intellectual property issues implicated by eSports (where corporations own the actual games being played, unlike with traditional sports), coupled with eSports’ rapidly […]
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Falling Off the Balance Beam
According to a report by the Washington Post, Lawrence G. Nassar, former team physician for the U.S. women’s and Michigan State University (“MSU”) gymnastic teams, was charged on February 22, 2017 with sexually abusing nine female athletes, some of whom were younger than 13 years old. Although the Washington Post noted that USA Gymnastics first alerted the FBI of Nassar in the summer of 2015, it was after the IndyStar published a striking piece about two sexual abuse allegations against Nassar in September 2016 when additional complaints alleging sexual abuse by Nassar were reported to MSU police Reportedly, Nassar was […]
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When Netflix Makes Fox Executives An Offer They Can’t Refuse
Lawyers for Twenty-First Century Fox filed a writ of mandate to a California appellate court on Tuesday, February 21, as part of their ongoing lawsuit against Netflix. Twenty-First Century Fox, the company owned by media-mogul Rupert Murdoch and includes Fox, Fox News, the FX Networks, and a film division, initiated the suit in September 2016, after Netflix hired two senior executives away from the studio. The company alleges that Netflix engaged in a “‘brazen campaign to unlawfully target, recruit, and poach valuable Fox executives by illegally inducing them to break their employment contracts with Fox to work at Netflix.’” According […]