LATEST INSIGHTS

Antitrust / Litigation / NCAA

College Athletes Move to Force America East Conference Commissioner to Testify

On August 22, 2018, a class of college athletes filed a motion to compel the testimony of Amy Huchthausen, Commissioner of the NCAA America East Conference. According to the motion, the NCAA canceled Ms. Huchthausen’s deposition two days before she was scheduled to be deposed. The NCAA claimed that she was no longer going to be called as a witness at the upcoming college athlete’s compensation trail, a stark contrast to their previous statements.

As we have previously reported, a class of college athletes …

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Copyright / Intellectual Property / Litigation / NFL

Retired NFL Players Denied Class Certification in Copyright Lawsuit Against EA

On August 17, 2018, a group of retired NFL players was denied class certification in California Federal Court for the second time. As we have previously reported, the retired NFL players claimed that EA created physically and biographically similar avatars of the former NFL players and used them in their famous Madden NFL video game. According to the former players, EA used the player’s actual positions, teams, accurately pointed to the players’ retired statuses, and EA publicized their use by coining certain features of …

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Advertising / Baseball / Contract

Cubs Fan Files Copyright Suit against the Team over Souvenir Design

On Friday, August 17th, a retired Michigan advertiser filed suit against the Chicago Cubs, alleging that the Cubs stole his design for 1984 souvenirs and reused the design for 2017 souvenirs without his permission or compensation.

Dan Fox was a Chicago advertising executive in 1984, when he contracted with the Cubs to create a souvenir for the team’s divisional championship: a clear acrylic block encasing an ivy leaf from Wrigley Field’s outfield wall. In the original license agreement, the Cubs’ acknowledged Fox as …

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NCAA

NCAA Determines Former ULM Assistant Basketball Coach Engaged in Misconduct

On August 17, 2018, an NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions (COI) panel determined that a former University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) assistant men’s basketball coach, who was not identified in the decision, engaged in academic misconduct on behalf of two student-athletes. Further, the coach also violated NCAA ethical conduct rules when he failed to cooperate with the investigation.

According to the COI panel, the coach violated academic policies when, in the summer of 2017, he obtained two student-athletes’ computer login information for two …

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Class Actions / Contract / Litigation / NCAA

Johnnie Vassar Drops Transfer Rule Suit

On August 10, 2018, former Northwestern University guard, Johnnie Vassar, dropped his lawsuit against the NCAA and Northwestern. As we have previously reported, in 2016, Vassar sued the NCAA and Northwestern claiming that Northwestern “offered Vassar a “cash payment” to “make [Vassar] go away and free-up his scholarship.”

According to the November 2016 class-action lawsuit, Vassar alleged that Northwestern breached a contract it had with Vassar after the school removed Vassar’s four-year athletic scholarship in May 2016. Further, Vassar alleged that the school used …

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Antitrust / NCAA

O’Bannon Evidence to be Used by both Litigants in NCAA Antitrust Trial

In a controversial move, U.S. District Judge Wilken has announced that, in the antitrust action brought by student athletes against the NCAA, she will admit evidence from the O’Bannon case, despite objections from both litigants.

In the case at hand, the athletes are pursuing claims that the NCAA illegally restrains their income potential by prohibiting pay beyond the students’ scholarship. Judge Wilken’s statement permitting the use of O’Bannon evidence will allow the NCAA in to use O’Bannon’s expert testimony for impeachment purposes, and will also …

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General / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Trademark

Five in NYC Charged for Selling Over $73M in Counterfeit Jordans

According to shoe hero, five New York City individuals have recently been charged for the sale of over $73 million worth of counterfeit Nike Air Jordans, in a ring thought to have been active since at least 2016. On August 3, 2018, a complaint was filed in the Southern District of New York, alleging that Miyuki Suen, Jian Min Huang, Songhua Qu, Kin Lui Chen, and Fangrang Qu conspired to and did traffic counterfeit goods in violation of federal law.

The investigation was led …

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Basketball / NCAA

NCAA Adopts New Policies Amid Bribery Scandal

On August 8, 2018, the NCAA announced sweeping policy changes specifically targeting NCAA Men’s Basketball. These policy changes come in the midst of an ongoing bribery scandal. As we have previously covered, the scandal involved two alleged schemes that rocked NCAA Men’s Basketball. The first scheme involved NCAA basketball coaches who solicited and accepted bribes from financial advisers and, in return, promised to persuade players to send business to those financial advisers once the players turned professional. The second scheme involved efforts to secretly …

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Bountygate / Copyright / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation / NFL / TV

Bizarre Inside Edition Lawsuit that Involves the Murder of a Former NFL Player

On August 6, 2018, Billups P. Percy sued Inside Edition Inc. after Inside Edition allegedly used Percy’s copyrighted video of Anthony Hayes. On December 26, 2005, Percy, a Louisiana-based photojournalist, video recorded Anthony Hayes wielding a knife while surrounded by New Orleans police officers. Hayes was shot and killed by a police officer after he lunged at a police lieutenant. Percy later registered the video with the U.S. Copyright Office and he was given rights to the video as the sole owner of all “right, …

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Baseball / Fantasy Sports / Gambling / MLB / Sports Betting / Sports Gambling

MLB Asks Lawmakers to be Cautious in Recently Legalized Sports Betting World

On July 31, 2018, at the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Bryan Seeley, a senior vice president with Major League Baseball, asked lawmakers to be cautious in the recently legalized sports betting world.

As we have previously reported, in May 2018, the United States Supreme Court struck down a federal statute controlling the states’ ability to regulate sports gambling. In its majority opinion, the court voted to strike down the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA). Although PAPSA did not …

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