LATEST INSIGHTS

Copyright / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…it’s Warner Brothers!

Another victory for Warner Brothers in a lifelong battle over the copyright to Superman. The U.S. Supreme Court denied review of Superman’s co-creator’s heirs, Joseph Shuster, to terminate Warner Brothers’ rights to the Superman copyright. Shuster’s heirs requested a hearing to challenge Warner Brothers’ copyright on the grounds that the 1976 Copyright Act allowed them to reclaim their portion of the comic character icon. A provision of the Copyright Act allows authors to terminate and reclaim previous assignments of copyrights.

Shuster’s heirs initially made an …

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Concussions / NFL

So Far 9 Former NFL Players Say ‘No’ to Settlement Offer

As the deadline to opt out of the proposed concussion settlement, so far nine players or their representatives chose to opt out while more than 4, 000 players have registered to receive any updates on the settlement.

Although some former players, including Dave Duerson and Junior Seau, wish to delay the deadline until after November 19 when a fairness hearing is scheduled, the deadline is currently set on October 14.  In a motion filed on October 2 to keep the current schedule, the lead players’ …

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General

Georgia Tech Opens Concessions to Bitcoin

On Wednesday, October 1, the Georgia Tech athletic association announced its partnership with BitPay to provide bitcoin as an alternate currency at football games.

Athletic director Mike Bobinski stated “we are always looking to lead in innovative ways, and this partnership with BitPay gives us an opportunity to do so by integrating this new technology at a sports venue and in the daily lives of our students.”  The open-source online currency will be available for use on concessions in the student section of Bobby …

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Legislation

Leagues Respond to New Jersey Sports Betting

On Monday, September 29, four major professional sports leagues and the NCAA (“Leagues”) challenged New Jersey’s latest attempt to offer legal sports gambling within the state. The Leagues filing is in response to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s directive to allow casinos and racetracks to offer sports wagering so long as it is not state-regulated.

The Leagues argue that Governor Christie’s directive conflicts with the 1992 Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) which bans individual sports gambling in all but four states. Governor Christie …

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Fraud / TV

Real Prison Sentence for ‘Real Housewives’ Stars

On Thursday, October 2, reality television stars, Giuseppe and Teresa Giudice were sentenced to staggered prison sentences for several counts of fraud.

The married couple, starring on Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” were indicted in 2013 on 39 counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and making false statements on loan applications.  Additionally Giuseppe failed to file tax returns for the years 2004 – 2008.  The couple originally pleaded not guilty, but changed their mind in March …

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NFL / TV

FCC Eliminates Its NFL Blackout Rule

Here in Buffalo, football fans are enraged by the words “Blackout Rule.”  That reaction, however, may be a thing of the past.  On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) voted unanimously to end the rule.

The nearly 40 year old rule was enacted by the FCC to promote attendance at local games.  It did so by banning cable and satellite providers from airing local broadcasts of a game that did not meet attendance requirements.  More specifically, a local broadcaster cannot air a game within a …

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Litigation

New Law Saves Tribal Casino from Litigation

Last week President Obama signed the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act (“the Act”).  Sponsored by two Democratic Senators of Michigan, the act reauthorizes the trust status of certain land that has been placed into trust for the benefit of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatami Indians.  The trust land is located in Bradley, Michigan and is a home for the Gun Lake Casino, a gaming house that has been operated by the Gun Lake Tribe since 2011.

The enactment of the Act puts an …

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Litigation

California Federal Court Moves ADA Suit Against Disney to Florida

Disney successfully argued before a California federal judge that a suit alleging Disney’s Disability Access Service (“DAS”) discriminates against autistic children should be transferred to Florida from California where it originated.  Disney reasoned that because the DAS program’s developers are based in Florida and employee training of the program also took place in Florida, the appropriate venue for the suit would be a Florida federal court.

Instead of letting disabled guests to skip lines, the DAS program now informs them a return time for attractions …

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Litigation / Tax / TV

Tax Situation Could Land “Jersey Shore” Star in Prison

On Wednesday, September 24, Mike “the Situation” Sorrentino of the MTV show “Jersey Shore,” appeared in court with his brother Marc to plead not guilty of  federal tax  related charges.

The Sorrentinos were charged with multiple counts: conspiracy to defraud the US, filing false tax returns, and failing to file a tax return, resulting in a failure to pay for taxes on $8.9 million of income.  The brothers allegedly claimed millions in personal and business expenses including clothing, vehicles, and grooming.  The charges stem from …

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Litigation / MLB

Mitch Williams Sues MLB & Deadspin for Response to Little League Incident

On Wednesday, September 24, ex-MLB pitcher, “Wild Thing” Mitch Williams filed a lawsuit against the MLB network and news outlet, Deadspin.

The suit Williams is bringing claims wrongful termination and defamation against the network, where he was an analyst since 2009 until his firing this year, and defamation against Deadspin.  The suit arises from alleged incident at his son’s little league baseball game in May this year.  Deadspin ran two articles on the story, reporting that Williams, a coach for his son’s team, argued with …

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