In May 2016, a class of former college athletes sued FanDuel and DraftKings, alleging that the sites wrongfully profited from their likenesses. Relying on Indiana’s right of publicity statute, the former college athletes argued that FanDuel and DraftKings violated their right to control the commercial use of their own identities. The case was dismissed in district court by U.S. District Judge […]
Last weekend, in New York City, the Recording Academy hosted the industry’s top, as well as up and coming, entertainment lawyers at the 20th anniversary of the Entertainment Law Initiative Event. The Entertainment Law Initiative is a gathering where industry practitioners have the opportunity to honor its members who have made significant contributions. This year
As Disney is gearing up to establish its own streaming service, it has started cracking down on unauthorized digital downloads of its works. In November 2017, Disney sued the video rental company Redbox for breaching the terms and conditions of their licensing agreement as well as violating Disney’s copyrights in their motion pictures. In the complaint, Disney
On November 29, Devon Hammond filed a civil rights lawsuit against the University of Southern Mississippi (“Southern Miss”) for violating federal antidiscrimination law. Hammond alleges the school discriminated against him by refusing to let him play football after learning Hammond only has one kidney. Hammond, a former Louisiana State University (“LSU”) football recruit, transferred to
According to The New York Times, the man behind the cyber attack on HBO this summer has been indicted on charges of wire fraud, computer fraud, identity theft and extortion. Behzad Mesri, an Iranian national, hacked into HBO’s system under the pseudonym “Skote Vahshat”, where he stole data from May to August. Additionally, Mesri released
Over the summer, Disney and Pixar were sued by childhood development expert Denise Daniels over the film Inside Out. She claims that the film was based on her TV show, The Moodsters, and that she was uncompensated for her work. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, there are some similarities between the two films as both conceptualize the emotions as
Three University of California: Los Angeles (“UCLA”) men’s basketball team players have been allowed to return home after being arrested in China for shoplifting. LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill were in Hangzhou, China to play an exhibition match against Georgia Tech, and while there, reportedly stole designer sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store.
Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, has made no secret to fellow owners, players, fans, and the general public that he is displeased with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. About two weeks ago, Jones threatened to sue the league if Goodell’s contract is extended. In response, fellow owners sent a letter to Jones, scolding him
Until last week, it was expected that AT&T’s pending $85.4 billion mega acquisition of Time Warner would close by the end of the year. After almost a year of review, however, the Justice Department has cast doubt on the deal. Late last week, in meetings with AT&T, the Justice Department pressured AT&T to sell Time
Warner Bros is being taken to court in Australia over breach of contract claims brought by George Miller. Miller claims that Warner Bros breached contract in denying him his $7 million bonus for “Mad Max: Fury Road.” Miller says that the company agreed to pay him the bonus in the event that he did not
The 9th Circuit heard oral arguments last week on whether or not recent digital remasterings of pre-1972 songs were fundamentally different enough from their original recordings to qualify as new intellectual property and thus be covered under Federal Copyright Law. In an appeal filed by ABS Entertainment last year, the company argues that the District
