Maryland Moves to Legalize Sports Betting

On March 15, 2018, the lower chamber of the Maryland State Legislature, the House of Delegates, passed legislation that could legalize sports betting in Maryland. An overwhelming number of state legislatures, 124 to 14, voted to pass bill HB1014. HB1014 will now move onto the upper chamber of the Maryland State Legislature, the Maryland State Senate, specifically the Senate’s Budget and Taxation Committee. If HB1014 passes the Maryland State Senate, it then becomes subject to a voter referendum.

Supporters of HB1014 say sports gambling …

March 21, 2018 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / NCAA

NCAA Fails to Appear for Trademark Trial, Files New Suit Entirely

On March 4, 2018, two owners of Southern California Ford dealerships filed for dismissal or staying of a trademark infringement suit initiated by the NCAA, while the parties await decision on the same issue from the Trademark Trial and Appeals Board (TTAB). The NCAA initiated a suit in response to the dealerships’ uses of “Markdown Madness,” claiming the slogan could easily be confused with the NCAA’s “March Madness.” Dealership owners and defendants, Ken Grody Management, Inc. and Dixon Ford, Inc., had already been defending the …

March 20, 2018 Litigation / NCAA

New England Patriots Defensive End Sues Over NCAA Injury Insurance Policy

On March 9, 2018, Deatrich Wise Jr., a defensive end for the New England Patriots, filed a lawsuit against The Professional Athlete’s Insurance Group, PLLC (PAIG), agent Matthew Allen, Certain Underwriters at Lloyd’s, London, and International Specialty Insurance, Inc. (ISI). In the lawsuit, Wise alleged that the defendants misrepresented and failed to tender insurance benefits to Wise under the NCAA “loss of value” insurance policy. Wise is a former NCAA football player. He was designated as an “exceptional student-athlete” prior to the start …

March 19, 2018 NCAA

Sensitive Information Capped in NCAA Corruption/Bribery Case

As we recently covered, the NCAA corruption and bribery case continues to unfold and expand. As the government widens the scope of its search, it has simultaneously been trying to keep its findings under wraps. Although U.S. District Judges Lewis A. Kaplan and Edgardo Ramos both denied the government’s recent request for a gag order, they did acknowledge the need to protect some of the sensitive information obtained as the case progresses.

On March 6, 2018, the court issued a protective order, providing …

March 16, 2018 Concussions / NCAA

Judge Scales Back Discovery in NCAA Wrongful Death Suit

On March 1, 2018, a Texas court of appeals filed a writ of mandamus, partially granting and partially denying the NCAA’s appeal of a prior discovery order. The suit was initiated by Debra Ploetz, wife of former University of Texas football player, Greg Ploetz, who played for the team from 1968 to 1972 and who died in 2015 from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

The wrongful death suit alleges the late athlete’s CTE condition and subsequent death resulted directly from his years spent playing for …

March 15, 2018 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / NCAA

Legal Fees Sought After NCAA Trademark Suit Deemed “Exceptional Case”

As we have previously reported, the NCAA has recently triumphed over a year-long trademark suit when its motion requesting an entry of default was granted back in January 2018, and a default judgment rendered thereafter. The suit alleged that defendants Robert Alexander and Kizzang LLC had infringed, diluted, and unfairly competed with the NCAA by using and attempting to register the marks “April Madness” and “Final 3.” The marks were strikingly similar to the NCAA’s well-known trademarks of “March Madness” and the “Final …

March 14, 2018 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark

Nike OK’d to Continue Using “Jumpman” Logo

On February 27, 2018 the Ninth Circuit ruled that Nike’s use of its iconic “Jumpman” logo did not infringe on copyrights to a 1984 image of Michael Jordan, as captured by photographer Jacobus Rentmeester. Following more than three years of litigation — and though the decision was split — Nike may continue to use the image without legal repercussions.

Rentmeester originally shot and used the image of Jordan in a mid-air, “grand jeté-inspired pose,” which was featured in a 1984 issue of Life…

March 13, 2018 Litigation

Reebok-CCM Settles Royalties Lawsuit

On March 2, 2018, the lawsuit between Reebok-CCM Hockey (CCM) and Hefter Impact Technologies, LLC was dismissed after the two parties reached a confidential settlement. Back in September 2015, Hefter sued CCM alleging that CCM contractually owed royalties on hockey helmets that were derivative of a Hefter design. The recent settlement came before the scheduled April 17, 2018 trial.

Although the case never made it to trail, it did not gone without its fair share of litigation. For example, as we previously covered back in …

March 13, 2018 Fantasy Sports / Litigation

Federal Judges Turn to Indiana State Court in DraftKings and FanDuel Lawsuit

On March 7, 2018, two Seventh Circuit judges, Judge Frank Easterbrook and Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner, certified the following question to the Supreme Court of Indiana, “Whether online fantasy‐sports operators that condition entry on payment, and distribute cash prizes, need the consent of players whose names, pictures, and statistics are used in the contests, in advertising the contests, or both.”

As we have previously reported, in May 2017, a group of 3,000 college-athletes, led by former Northern Illinois University football players Akeem Daniels and …

March 13, 2018 Litigation / MLB

Cubs Dropped From Foul Ball Suit, If Only Temporarily

As we previously reported, a Cubs fan was struck in the face by a foul ball during an August 2017 game at Wrigley Field, where he brought his children to watch from the first base line. The injury left John “Jay” Loos blind in one eye and his other eye vulnerable to the same. He filed suit against both the MLB and the Cubs in October, alleging negligence by both parties, specifically, for failing to install a net which would have otherwise shielded him …

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