Heitner Legal
Have you heard the acronym NIL? It stands for name, image, and likeness. NIL rights came to college athletes on July 1, 2021 for the first time ever, and they include all types of publicity rights, which allow current college athletes to earn money on everything from endorsing products and services, making personal appearances, selling […]
On January 21, 2021, The Topps Company, Inc. tweeted, “We captured the Presidential Inauguration action #ToppsNOW style!” with a link to a “full slate” of new cards featuring various prominent celebrities and politicians who took part in the inauguration of President Joe Biden. The most popular card was and undoubtedly will be one of Bernie […]
October 29, 2019 will either be remembered as the day that the NCAA signified a major shift in its position on whether college athletes should receive compensation in exchange for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses, or it won’t. The bottom-line is that it is far too early to tell what the […]
And down the stretch they come! It is a popular saying in horse racing, which was popularized by sportscaster and longtime ABC, CBS, ESPN and NBC voice Dave Johnson. It is also a phrase that is now the subject of a trademark infringement lawsuit pending in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of […]
Is it true that no one can own a dance step? That is what video game publisher Epic Games is arguing in a motion to dismiss that it filed on February 11 in a federal case that was brought by Terrence “2 Milly” Ferguson.
Everyone has seen the picture of Michael Jordan crying at his Hall of Fame induction, as it is being used on memes everywhere. Can the use of this photo in a meme get you sued? Copyright law grants exclusive rights of an original work to its creator, in this case the Associated Press. Of course […]
One of the most publicized legal issues in Sports Law today deals with athletes’ right to publicity, and the infringement on these rights by companies seeking to capitalize on player names, images, and likenesses. The elements of a Right of Publicity claim vary from state to state, but there is a good deal of overlap […]
Here is a sample definition of likeness – name, silhouette, personality, appearance, performance, depiction, portrayal, photograph and voice. It is an integral definition in many licensing agreements where one party hopes to be able to exploit the other party, usually for a hefty fee. What if you were not entitled to just compensation for the […]
Very talented athletes stand to make more money from off field/court/ice/etc. activities than what they earn based on performing in the trade that they are truly qualified. Agents, attorneys, and marketers attempt to find and negotiate these deals for their athlete clients. Often times, those deals are licensing agreements, or at least contain provisions that […]