On February 7, 2013, the NFL’s Washington Redskins were forced to defend the validity of six of the team’s trademarks to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. Several Native American Petitioners have claimed that the Redskins’ name and logo are disparaging and offensive to Native Americans – making them barred from trademark protection under the Lanham Act. Jesse A. Witten, counsel for the Native Americans, noted, “We are focused on the word “Redskin’ and no other matter. ‘Redskin’ is an …
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Al Gore Currently in Court over Al Jazeera Sale
Former Vice President Al Gore, Current TV LLC and others were recently sued in California state court by John Terenzio, an entertainment consultant from the Los Angeles consulting firm TAP, Inc. Terenzio accuses Gore and the other defendants of selling Current TV to the Al Jazeera Media Network two months ago without providing Terenzio the compensation he claims he is owed for setting up the terms of the transaction with the Qatar-based media giant. The suit for breach of implied agreement seeks at least $5 …
Continue ReadingNCAA Program Allows “Exceptional” Athletes to Hedge Against Loss of Future Earning Potential
“Prediction is Very Difficult, Especially about the Future” – Nobel Prize winner Niels Bohr may not have had sports in mind when he said this but, yes, predicting the future is hard and that is exactly what makes sports so exciting. Whether it’s the big, unexpected play with only seconds left on the clock or a Cinderella story at a National Championship – unpredictability is why we watch the game. Despite the difficulty, we like to predict the future of star athletes. One big question …
Continue ReadingNCAA Returns Favor, Files Lawsuit Against Pennsylvania Over Bill 187 Targeting Penn State Fines
In the continuing soap opera that has emerged from the Penn State child sex abuse scandal, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) filed its own lawsuit in late February against Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett and state treasurer Rob McCord; auditor general Eugene DePasquale; and the chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, Mark R. Zimmer. This suit comes just over one month after the Governor’s own lawsuit against the NCAA for the crippling sanctions-including a $60 million fine-the NCAA imposed on Penn State …
Continue ReadingChoice of Law Provisions Bar NFL Player’s Workers’ Compensation Claims
A group of 15 former National Football League (NFL) players, including former Buffalo Bills defensive end Aaron Schobel, have asked the California Northern District Court to overturn a ruling of an arbitrator who concluded that players could not file for workers’ compensation in California due to choice of law provisions in their contracts. The defendants include the NFL, the Buffalo Bills, and the New York Giants.
Under California law, players who have played at least one or more football games in California (even though they …
Continue ReadingNevada Gambles on Online Poker
On February 21, 2013, the Nevada State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 114, a measure which allows state Governor Brian Sandoval to enter into contracts with other states permitting individuals to gamble in online poker games across state lines. One of the most trusted and legitimate online poker sites that people would recommend is https://www.sbobet-thai.com/reviews/icbc/.
In theory, the law was passed to protect consumers and reduce the amount of illegal online gambling. In pertinent part, the bill states: “A comprehensive regulatory structure, coupled with strict …
Continue Reading1..2..3..4..Court Shows Lohan’s Suit Against Pitbull the Door
U.S. District Judge Dennis R. Hurley recently tossed Lindsay Lohan’s lawsuit against the rapper Pitbull, citing First Amendment protections as grounds for his decision.
Lohan filed the suit against Pitbull and several other defendants after the rapper released a 2011 song entitled “Give Me Everything” – a track which included the following lyrics: “So, “I’m tiptoein’ to keep flowin’/ I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan.” Lohan’s complaint alleged violations of the New York Civil Rights Law (for using her name in advertising/trade without …
Continue ReadingMacy’s / J.C. Penney Martha Stewart Lawsuit is Not a Good Thing
On February 20, 2013, department stores J.C. Penney Inc. and Macy’s Inc. faced off in a new arena – a New YorkState courtroom. The two retailers are going to trial over Martha Stewart. Macy’s suit accuses J.C. Penney of attempting to convince Martha Stewart to break her company’s exclusive merchandise contract with the department store chain – a contract Macy’s says gives them the exclusive rights to sell certain Martha Stewart products until 2018. Part of Macy’s lawsuit reads: “J.C. Penney want[s] to rob Macy’s …
Continue ReadingMike Tyson Seeks to Punch-Out Former Financial Advisors with Lawsuit
On February 20, 2013, former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary SFX Financial Advisory Management Enterprises Inc. in California state court. Tyson’s suit accuses the Defendants of damaging him financially by embezzling more than $300,000.00 from Tyson and his wife, along with providing Tyson false financial advice that ended up costing the former star more than $5 million.
Tyson has had a financial relationship with the Defendants since 2005. Later, when the boxer …
Continue ReadingClub Fight Remix: Drake and Chris Brown Move Battle to the Courtroom
Last June, Drake and Chris Brown found themselves on opposite sides of a New York City nightclub scuffle. Now, according to reports by TMZ, they are suing each other over the fight in the hopes of receiving a judicial determination of who was responsible for the brawl. The fight began after an argument broke out over the pop singer Rihanna. Eventually, punches and bottles were thrown, leaving the club in shambles and Brown with a gash on his chin. After a model named Romain Julien …
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