LATEST INSIGHTS

Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation

Gaining Momentum: Opposition in Redskins Lawsuit Enter Into Similar ‘Slants’ Case

On Friday, July 24, Amanda Blackhorse and the other Native Americans challenging the Washington Redskins over the team’s trademark registrations jumped into a parallel case in the Federal Circuit.  The other case involves The Slants, a band that was refused a trademark in 2013 due to the name being offensive to Asian-Americans, and the en banc Federal Circuit’s decision could weigh heavily in the challengers’ case against the football team.

The Slants are currently arguing that the government’s ban on disparaging trademarks violates the First …

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NFL

Running Out of Air: NFL Commissioner Upholds Brady Four-Game Suspension

On Tuesday, July 28, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the four-game suspension imposed on New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady on May 11.  The NFL announced that Goodell’s decision to uphold the suspension was based on the Wells Report and evidence that came to light during the ten-hour appeal hearing last month.

Specifically, Goodell noted that Brady’s destruction of his cell phone was a factor in upholding the suspension.  He explained how Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages during the four months that the …

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Contract

Loose Lips Sink Ships: Yahoo Counter-Claims Against SCA Promotions For Allegedly Disclosing Confidential Information

On Tuesday, internet giant Yahoo Inc. asked a Texas federal judge to sanction insurer SCA Promotions Inc. and its attorneys for allegedly breaking confidentiality rules. Yahoo claims this violation occurred when SCA filed its motion for summary judgment and supporting documents in the publicly accessible online service known as PACER.

Yahoo claims

“In a blatant ploy to influence the jury pool, to resurrect a case with no basis and to garner some bizarrely needed but desperate notoriety, SCA has now violated the protective order governing

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Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Nintendo Beats the Game, Wins Patent Suit Over Game Boy Controls

On Friday, July 17, Nintendo Co. Ltd. emerged victorious in a patent infringement lawsuit brought by Quintal Research Group Inc.  The suit alleged that Nintendo’s handheld gaming systems, such as Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo DSi, infringed a patent owned by Quintal.  However, California federal judge Saundra Armstrong disagreed, awarding judgment to Nintendo.

In 2008, Quintal secured a patent for a “computerized information retrieval system.”  As the patent proposes, this system is described as

“having a generally rectangular shape, with a display screen

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Litigation / NFL

Interference: NFL Sued After Cancellation of Fantasy Football Event

Another day another lawsuit. Fan Expo LLC, a company with ties to Cowboys Quarterback Tony Romo, filed a suit in Dallas on Monday against the NFL after it allegedly interfered with a National Fantasy Football Convention that was supposed to take place earlier this month.

Initially scheduled for July 10-12, the convention was planned to take place in The Venetian and feature NFL players including Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Rob Gronkowski, Odell Beckham Jr., as well as a number of others. The lawsuit alleges …

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Contract / NFL

Marcus Mariota – Conflict Inevitable in Contract Negotiation

In 2011, the National Football League and the National Football League Players Association reworked their collective bargaining agreement, which brought a major change to the structure of rookie contracts. Gone were the days of massive dollars for players yet to play a down in the NFL. In their place: structured, cookie-cutter deals that have a fixed compensation value based on which slot in the draft the player is selected. Every contract is for the same length of time as well. The goal was to streamline …

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Soccer

Rochester Lancers Disband Over Concerns of Inflated Workers’ Compensation Costs

New York, frequently pointed to as one of the most expensive states for workers’ compensation costs and claims, has recently claimed victim to a professional soccer team due to rising insurance costs.  The Rochester Lancers, an indoor soccer team in the Major Arena Soccer League, disbanded due to a sharp rise in workers’ compensation insurance costs.

In an impassioned open letter to fans, Lancers owner Salvatore “SoccerSam” Fantauzzo cited an 800% increase by the New York State Insurance Fund as reason for the team’s folding …

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Litigation / NCAA

Hold Everything: NCAA Seeks To Stay Deferred Payments to Players

On Friday, July 17, the NCAA asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to pause an injunction that allows college athletes to receive deferred compensation for the use of their names, images, and likenesses.  Under the injunction, the NCAA must allow for schools to pay football and men’s basketball players up to the federally defined cost of attendance, plus $5,000 per year for use of their names and likenesses, starting on August 1.

The NCAA immediately appealed Judge Claudia Wilken’s ruling, and oral arguments were …

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Fraud

Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Golf Channel Ponzi Scheme Question

In 2012, R. Allen Stanford, a former financier and professional sports sponsor, was convicted of various fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy charges based on his role as the head of massive Ponzi scheme.  His more than $7 billion certificate of deposit fraud landed him in prison for 110 years.  Since that time, a court-appointed receiver has been attempting to recover the money from various sources.

While the fraud was ongoing, it got so large that Stanford used mass marketing to get the word out about …

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