In what is being hailed as a landmark decision, China’s highest court recently ruled in favor of Michael Jordan, holding that he owns the legal rights to the Chinese characters of the equivalent of his name. Jordan sued Qiaodan Sports Company, alleging that it built a brand by putting the Mandarin transliteration of his name on its sportswear. Jordan never gave permission for this use of his name and he has no connection with Qiaodan Sports. The high court overturned the lower courts, which …
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Start ‘Em Up: NFLPA Launches Business Accelerator
On December 6, 2016, the National Football League Players Association launched the OneTeam Collective, a business incubator that will help drive innovative sports-related companies’ growth. This effort was initiated alongside six other founding partners: Harvard Innovation Lab, Intel, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, LeadDog Marketing Group, Madrona Venture Group, and the Sports Innovation Lab.
OneTeam will acquire equity stakes in new sports-related startups in exchange for the licensing and content rights of NFL players. Generally, companies like Nike or EA Sports must shell out a …
Continue ReadingStudent Athletes: Don’t Quit Your Day Job
On December 5, 2016, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision in a case brought by former student athletes of the track and field team at the University of Pennsylvania, against the University, the NCAA and several other Division I universities. The former student athletes claimed that during their time in college athletics they were employees of the defendants and therefore entitled to a minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The district court held that the student athletes, who formerly attended …
Continue ReadingDown to the Wire: MLB Reaches Tentative Labor Agreement
In the final hours before the prior collective bargaining agreement’s expiration, Major League Baseball and its players’ union reached a tentative labor agreement. The agreement just narrowly avoided a potential work stoppage and marks 26 years of labor cooperation in the league. The new agreement should extend that peace another give years, until 2021.
The agreement hinged upon a raised threshold of the specified payroll limit. This “luxury tax” was a penalty on teams that went over the threshold. According to players the cap was …
Continue ReadingNFL Takes its Turn, Asks High Court to Not Review Concussion Settlement
A few weeks ago, it was the players. Now, the National Football League is asking the Supreme Court to not reject a deal between the league and roughly 20,000 former players dealing with systemic injuries of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals expressly approved a settlement that was expected to provide the two certified classes with more than $900 million of relief. The approval of the settlement, authorized earlier this year, was met with resistance. A group of players petitioned the …
Continue ReadingNFL Hit with New CTE Lawsuit in Southern District of Florida
The latest in a string of head injury lawsuits to hit the National Football League was recently filed on November 21, 2016 in federal court in the Southern District of Florida.
As awareness of the long-term head injuries arises, so does litigation against professional sports teams in recent years with especially high-profile cases brought against the NFL. In this most recent iteration, 38 named former NFL players have sued on behalf of a group of 141 retired players seeking workers’ compensation benefits for chronic traumatic …
Continue ReadingTrademark Liability Setback for The Walking Dead Creator
Robert Kirkman, creator of The Walking Dead, faced a setback Wednesday, November, 30, 2016 when a judge denied his company’s motion for summary judgement in a trademark liability suit. Last year, the company filed suit against four entrepreneurs who had filed numerous trademark applications to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the mark “The Walking Dead.” The defendants’ 11 patent applications were connected to various goods and services including t-shirts, bottled water, coffee, and other “themed restaurant services.”
Currently, the company owns …
Continue ReadingNo New Stadium in San Diego … For Now
One of the less polarizing takeaways from this election cycle was the rejection of a publicly-funded stadium initiative by the residents of San Diego. On Election Day, voters defeated the proposed six percent hotel room tax increase that would have aided in the funding of the venue. For now, the Chargers are focusing on football, and any decision about relocating elsewhere will be made after the NFL season concludes.
The club wanted to build a new stadium in the city of San Diego — a …
Continue ReadingThe Road for MLS Expansion in St. Louis Takes a Wild Turn
On November 17, 2016, an ownership group known as SC STL revealed an official plan to build a 20,000 seat stadium to lure an expansion MLS franchise to St. Louis. The proposed $200 million stadium would be built west of Union Station and have the capability to expand to 28,000 seats if demand dictated. Per SC STL’s plan, private investors would pay at least 60 percent of the stadium costs. The remaining 40 percent, or around $80 million, would be funded with public money subject …
Continue ReadingArena Football League Insurer Gets the First Down in Concussion Lawsuit
Although it may seem like the NFL is always involved in concussion litigation, another football organization — Arena Football League — is facing accusations over its own concussion procedures. In June 2015, Lorenzo Breland, who played for the Tulsa Talons and the New Orleans Voodoo during his time with the league, sued the AFL after suffering from two concussions. Breland suffered his first blow to the head in 2011. Then in 2014, he suffered a second concussion that ended his football career.
Breland sued Arena …
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