February 27, 2020 Baseball / Litigation / MLB

The Tail of the Phillie Phanatic – The Hidden Underbelly of the New-Look Mascot

As reported by the Philadelphia Phillies, “[h]e has evolved, but clearly hasn’t matured.”

This week, the Phillies unveiled their new-look mascot… who received little more than a touch-up. As discovered at the Phillies’ spring training home opener, the infamous Phillie Phanatic arrived with new feathers, stars outlining the eyes, an enlarged backside, and a brand new powder-blue tail, among other minor detail changes.

Most casual fans will hardly notice a difference, and even die-hard Phillies fans are split; some prefer the traditional style, while others …

December 2, 2019 Copyright / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation / WWE

Pausing the Game: Take-Two Seeks to Pause WWE Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive has told an Illinois federal court that it wants to pause a tattoo artist’s copyright infringement lawsuit, as a ruling on a pending summary judgment motion could decide the case.

As we reported last year, tattoo artist Catherine Alexander filed a lawsuit against Take-Two and World Wrestling Entertainment, alleging that they infringed on her copyright. Between 2003 and 2008, Alexander created several unique tattoos for WWE superstar Randy Orton. While WWE allegedly offered Alexander $450,000 for the rights to use …

October 7, 2019 Copyright / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation

Peloton Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Expanded to $300 Million, Includes Over 2,000 Songs

A refreshed complaint against cycling giant, Peloton, by over 30 music publishers was approved by a federal judge, approximately doubling the number of songs and damages claimed.

As we reported earlier, 30 music publishers filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Peloton in March. The company is known for its high-end stationary bicycles that allow users to stream online spinning classes. The lawsuit alleges that these classes used copyrighted music and that Peloton failed to obtain proper synchronization licenses, which are fees paid to music …

August 8, 2019 Baseball / Copyright / Litigation / MLB

City of Phanatic Love: Phillies Face Lawsuit Over Beloved Mascot

He’s green, a little mean, and often obscene – it’s the mascot everyone loves to hate, the infamous Phillie Phanatic. After the filing of a new federal lawsuit, however, there’s an ominous question looming of whether the 41-year-old relationship will continue in the city of brotherly love.

Back on August 2, 2019, the Philadelphia Phillies filed a copyright lawsuit in federal court against Harrison/Erickson, Inc. (H/E) over the future use of the Phanatic as a mascot. Reportedly, H/E asserts that its primary members, Bonnie and …

August 5, 2019 Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation

Bat Out of Court: Meat Loaf Settles Copyright Lawsuit Over “I’d Do Anything For Love”

Multi-platinum musician, Meat Loaf, successfully flew out of the frying pan and into a settlement over a copyright dispute involving his hit song, “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).”

Back in 2017, Enclosed Music LLC filed a copyright lawsuit in California, alleging Meat Loaf ripped off “[I’d Do] Anything for You” by Jon Dunmore Sinclair, whose catalog Enclosed owns. The song in question received tremendous accolades and success during its release in 1993; commercially, the album sold more than 14 million …

November 5, 2018 Copyright / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation / WWE

Again WWE and Take-Two Interactive Move to Dismiss Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

On October 23, 2018, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (Take-Two) again moved to dismiss a suit brought by Catherine Alexander, a tattoo artist for professional WWE wrestler Randy Orton. According to the WWE and Take-Two, Alexander’s “amended complaint does nothing to remedy the grave deficiencies of her prior pleading.”

As we have previously reported, in April, 2018, Alexander sued the WWE and Take-Two. Alexander claimed that several video games in the WWE 2K series illegally copied Alexander’s copyrighted tattoos …

August 23, 2018 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 …

August 22, 2018 Advertising / Baseball / Contract

Cubs Fan Files Copyright Suit against the Team over Souvenir Design

On Friday, August 17^th, 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 …

July 17, 2018 Advertising / Basketball / Copyright / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / Litigation / NBA / Sponsorships / Trademark

Nike ‘Jumps’ Over Photographer Who Sued Over Iconic ‘Jumpman’ Logo

Nike’s namesake comes from the Greek Goddess of Victory and the sportswear giant once again lived up to their legendary name by scoring a second victory in the Ninth Circuit. The Sports Law Insider has previously reported on the three-year suit between photographer Jacobus Rentmeester and Nike over the iconic Jumpman Jordan logo.

The action started back in January 2014 when Rentmeester filed suit against Nike for copyright infringement. The iconic logo shows Michael Jordan in a common ballet pose known as the grand …

July 17, 2018 Copyright / Intellectual Property / Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Trademark / WWE

WWE and Take-Two Interactive Move to Dismiss Tattoo Artist Copyright Infringement

On July 9, 2018, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) and Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. (Take-Two) moved to dismiss the suit brought by Catherine Alexander, a tattoo artist for professional WWE wrestler Randy Orton. As we have previously reported, Alexander, sued WWE and Take-Two claiming that several video games in the WWE 2K series illegally copied Alexander’s copyrighted tattoos in the Randy Orton game avatar. Between 2003 and 2008, Alexander created several tattoos for Orton, including tattoos on his upper back, forearms, upper arms, and …