In 2016, Take-Two, a video game company that is the creator of the NBA 2K series of video games, was sued by Solid Oak Sketches, a company who owns the copyright in several NBA players’ tattoos. Solid Oak argued that the video game series, which seeks to simulate the NBA, infringed on their copyright because […]
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Texas Band Hits Chick-Fil-A, ESPN with Copyright Suit Over College Football Commercial
Law360 reported a Texas rock band’s representatives, Platinum Jack Entertainment Inc., filed suit against Chick-Fil-A Inc. and ESPN Inc. in Texas federal court on Tuesday. The suit alleges that the pair of companies stole a song from Dallas rock band Drayter for in the background of two commercials the companies released featuring the well-known Chick-Fil-A […]
“Empire” Strikes Back: Record Label Asks Supreme Court to Hear Trademark Infringement Suit
In 2015, Empire Distribution Inc., a record label, sued Twentieth Century Fox for trademark infringement. The lawsuit revolves around the television show Empire, a “primetime drama based around a fictional [record label] of the name.” Both the real-life record label and the fictional record label predominantly release hip-hop songs. The Lanham Act, the main law that […]
US Soccer Execs Ask Courts to Show NASL’s Suit a Red Card
This past week, Law360 reported that U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) executives filed a motion to dismiss in the North American Soccer League’s (NASL) suit in New York state courts. NASL filed suit in February alleging a breach of fiduciary duty and a purposeful scheme by USSF executives to undermine NASL while promoting the other major […]
AMP Act Introduced and Expected to Become Law
The Allocation for Music Producers (AMP) Act was recently introduced in the Senate. If signed into law, this bill will create a way for producers and engineers to receive direct payments from SoundExchange instead of relying on the artists to fulfill their contractual obligations for payment. The industry has always been plagued by complaints of […]
Fourth Time’s a Charm: Bill O’Reilly Sued for Defamation by Fourth Woman
Laurie Dhue, a former Fox News anchor from 2000 to 2008, is the fourth woman to bring a defamation suit against Bill O’Reilly. All four women had previously reached settlement agreements with O’Reilly over allegations of sexual harassment. In the settlement agreement with 21st Century Fox, the parent company for Fox News agreed to pay […]
U.S. v AT&T/Time Warner: The Antitrust Trial of the Century
On Monday, March 19th, the U.S. Department of Justice faced off against Time Warner and AT&T in what is called the Antitrust Trial of the century. With the rise of direct-to-streaming companies such as Netflix and Amazon, Hollywood has seen aggressive content consolidation, such as Disney’s proposed purchase of 21st Century Fox. The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the outcome […]
Haters Gonna Hate: Taylor Swift Wins Copyright Lawsuit
Last Friday, a California federal judge, Judge Fitzgerald, handed a win to Taylor Swift and her team when he dismissed a copyright suit against the singer with prejudice. This follows from a ruling in mid-February, where the judge granted a motion to dismiss for Swift’s team, but giving plaintiffs Sean Hall and Nathan Butler one chance to […]
Gibson Guitars May be Taking Final Bow
Gibson Brands Inc., the 100+ old iconic guitar maker, faces possible bankruptcy in the next few months. Sparking concern for the guitar manufacturer is the departure of the company’s chief financial officer, Bill Lawrence. To meet its financial obligations coming due in July, Gibson is selling its Baldwin piano brand and has left its long time […]
Nike Gets the ‘W’ in ‘Jumpman’ Copyright Suit
On Tuesday, February 27, a 2-1 split Ninth Circuit panel rejected a copyright suit against Nike Inc. alleging the athletic company’s “Jumpman” logo infringed on a photographer’s copyright. The court ruled that the logo was not substantially similar enough to Jacobus Rentmeester’s photo of Jordan from a 1984 issue of LIFE magazine. Rentmeester originally had […]