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Headline Intellectual Property Right of Publicity Sports Law

New Right Of Publicity Legislation Could Negatively Impact Athletes

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 […]

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Headline Intellectual Property Sports Law

Upper Deck Sued For Using Karim Abdul-Jabbar’s Likeness Without His Permission

When a trading card company uses a professional athlete’s picture on one of its cards, it needs to first have permission from the athlete before printing the cards and selling them to the public for profit.  Karim Abdul-Jabbar is ready to put up a fight against the Upper Deck Inc. after the company released cards […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

If You Sign An Agency Contract, You Will Have To Pay Your Agent!

Tom Condon, who is an agent in the football division at Creative Artists Agency (CAA), has filed a lawsuit in federal court against former client, Ryan Pickett.  Condon claims that Pickett owes the agent $83,600 in unpaid agent fees, and wants the court to confirm and enforce an arbitrator’s order stating such is true.  The […]

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Antitrust Headline Sports Law

One-Year Scholarship Rule Antitrust Battle

Last Monday, Joseph Agnew, a former Rice University football player, filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco based on the NCAA’s one-year scholarship rule.  The rule restricts a school from giving an athletic scholarship to a student-athlete for more than one-year at a time. Agnew was affected by […]

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Cyberspace Headline Personal Injury Sports Law

Strong Wind Gusts Leads To Notre Dame Student’s Death

Last Wednesday, junior Declan Sullivan was recording Notre Dame football’s practice from the top of a hydraulic lift before he fell to his death.  He was doing his job, videotaping practice from an aerial view so that the football players would later be able to see what they needed to correct before game day.  Then a […]

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Headline Sports Law

Motion For Continuance Granted For World Series Excuse

This really could go down as the greatest Emergency Motion for Continuance ever.  An attorney, Darrell W. Cook, asked for a continuance of a Pretrial Conference originally scheduled for yesterday at 1:00 p.m., because he wanted to be able to attend Game 1 of the World Series between the San Francisco Giants and the Texas […]

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Contracts Headline Sports Law

Miami Heat Not Feeling “Favored” By Clear Channel Broadcasting

While Miami Heat fans are still wondering whether the team made a good decision by signing Jerry Stackhouse after Mike Miller had surgery to repair a broken thumb, the team has its own concerns in a legal matter off the court.  The Miami Heat filed a legal action against Clear Channel Broadcasting, claiming that Clear […]

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Headline Intellectual Property Sports Law

NFL’s Deal With Nike Threatened If NFL Not A Single-Entity

As a consumer of NFL merchandise, I think it is great that the NFL and Nike were able to put together a five year deal, which makes Nike the official uniform provider of the NFL beginning in April 2012.  Nike makes a fantastic product, which is tough for other large companies to match.  But as […]

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Headline Personal Injury Sports Law

$52,703 Awarded To A Pitcher For Failure To Properly Maintain The Pitcher’s Mound

Whenever you participate in a sport, you assume quite a bit of risk regarding injury.  There is no way to ensure that every tackle in football, hit-by-the-pitch in baseball, or foul in basketball will result in minor pain.  At the same time, not all injuries are covered by the assumption of risk doctrine.  The Baseball […]

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Contracts Intellectual Property Sports Law Trade Secrets

Sports Agent Sues Former Client/Employee For Trade Secret Misappropriation, Breaching Non-Compete, Etc.

On October 6, 2010, Willis & Woy Sports Group, L.L.C., and Jordan Woy v. Horace Smith, et al. was filed in a district court in Dallas County, Texas.  In the petition, application for temporary restraining order, and application for injunctive relief, Jordan Woy alleges that former client and Willis & Woy employee, Horace Smith, used […]