Law Commons^™

An Evolving Landscape: Name, Image, And Likeness Rights In High, Adam Epstein -- Professor, Dept. Of Finance And Law, Nathaniel Grow -- Associate Professor Of Business Law & Ethics, Kathryn Kisska-Schulze -- Assoc. Professor Of Business Law

Vanderbilt Law Review

Amateur sports have entered a changing landscape. The onset of Name, Image, and Likeness (“NIL”) opportunities at the college level has prompted over half of state high school athletic associations to likewise permit high school student-athletes to pursue similar financial opportunities. The purpose of this Essay is not to argue for or against the emergence of NIL opportunities at the high school level but instead to explore this newly evolving landscape, identify accompanying financial dangers, and propose a statutory framework that builds upon California’s Coogan’s Law—a measure providing financial safeguards to children working in the entertainment industry—to better protect minor …

Beyond Nil, William W. Berry, Iii

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The name, image, and likeness (NIL) changes and shifting landscape obscure more existential threats to the student-athlete model on the horizon. The television money that Power Five conference teams receive still comprises much of the budget of athletic departments. The football and basketball players—-the revenue sport athletes-—may have a claim to a greater share of this revenue.

Some athletes argue that they are employees of their universities, which would entitle them not only to additional benefits but also to other tools, such as collective bargaining. All of these advantages could make universities responsible for increasing the amount of remuneration available …

Tackling Bias In Sport: Recognizing The Impact Of Identities, Meg Hancock --Assoc. Prof.

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Studies suggest participation in organized sports--from childhood to adulthood--promotes positive physical, social, emotional, and intellectual benefits that impact individuals and their communities over a lifetime. Sports participation in early childhood and adolescence also leads to higher self-esteem, greater wage-earning potential, lower health costs, reduced chronic disease, and lower levels of depression. In adulthood, participating in sports provides social connection, personal enjoyment, and improved health. In US society, sports are often viewed as a popular, viable, and sustainable avenue for social mobility. While the benefits of sports participation are unequivocal, the visibility and influence of star athletes, along with the way …

Breaking Cultural And Financial Barriers In Olympic Sports, Maureen A. Weston, Professor Of Law

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Nelson Mandela has said that “[s]port has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does . . . . It is more powerful than governments in breaking down barriers.” Sports can have tremendous value, not only to the individual participants in promoting physical and mental health, skills, and teamwork, but also to society in fostering community, civic pride, and a sense of belonging, even among the fans. Sports have significant economic, political and cultural impacts at the local, national, and international spheres. …

Forget About Ferpa: How Foia Protects Student-Athlete Privacy In The Nil Era, Kamron Cox

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The start of the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era stirred public fervor about the new earning potential of high-profile student-athletes. Since institutional policies and state laws governing NIL require student-athletes to broadly disclose information about their NIL activities to their respective institutions, the several state laws that follow the approach of the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) can jeopardize the privacy of student-athlete NIL information. Major universities have repeatedly resorted to the unreliable defense of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act as well as sporadic state legislation to protect student-athlete privacy in the new NIL space. However, …

Through The Looking Glass With Alice: The Current Application And Future Of Title Ix In Athletics, Josephine (Jo) R. Potuto

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article is a snapshot of the past pervasive discriminatory treatment of women in athletics and where women athletes and women’s athletics currently stand. It discusses some of the new challenges for Title IX enforcement—-female transgender athletes and treatment of name, image, and likeness revenues now open to college athletes. It reviews research regarding the physiological, hormonal, metabolic, body size and composition, and brain and neurological differences between men and women and how these factors impact both athletic performance and athletic interest. Finally, this Article concludes that the Title IX three-pronged test to assure gender equity in athletic participation opportunities …

Title Ix Vs. Ncaa: A Gameplan For Championship Equity, Leigh E. Friestedt

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 1972, Congress enacted Title IX of the Education Amendments Act (Title IX) to prohibit sex-based discrimination in “any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” While the original legislation did not stipulate “athletics,” Title IX has had a profound impact on intercollegiate sports by expanding the athletic opportunities for women as a covered “program or activity.” However, fifty years after the enactment of Title IX, there are still significant disparities between men’s and women’s intercollegiate athletics, most notably at the high-profile National College Athletics Association (NCAA or Association) Championships.

In 2021, the NCAA hosted the men’s and women’s …

Influencing “Kidfluencing”: Protecting Children By Limiting The Right To Profit From “Sharenting”, Charlotte Yates

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Statistics on children’s digital presences are staggering, with an overwhelming majority of children having unique digital identities by age two. The phenomenon of “sharenting” (parents sharing content of their children on social media) can start as early as a sonogram photo or a birth video and evolve into parent-run Instagram and TikTok accounts soon after. Content is often intimate, sometimes embarrassing, and frequently shared without children’s consent. Sharenting poses a myriad of risks to children including identity theft, digital kidnapping, exposure to child predators, emotional trauma, and social isolation. In the face of such significant risks to children’s well-being, one …

Copyright Co-Ownership In Uncertain Times: How Security Interests Can Save The Day, Evie Whiting, Ashleigh Stanley

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Films and television series are increasingly being created undera co-production model, making copyright co-ownership a common occurrence in the world of Hollywood content creation. So long as each co-owner’s rights are pre-negotiated and specifically delineated in their contracts, the co-owners can rest assured that their rights to the project and any potential derivative works are safe. Or can they?

In the modern entertainment landscape, where tentpole programming and related spinoffs and derivatives are the gold standard of content creation, the proper protection of co-owned copyrights is more important than ever. But tenuous financial outlooks pose a looming, existential threat to …

The Path To Employee Status For College Athletes Post-Alston, Tyler J. Murry

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

College athletics are in a state of flux following the Supreme Court’s decision in NCAA v. Alston. While student athletes can now earn money from their name image and likeness (NIL) through endorsement deals, the NCAA and its member schools can still exploit college athletes to earn billions of dollars. To remedy this injustice, courts should classify student athletes as employees under the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to compensate these students for their work. Whether student athletes should be eligible for minimum wage and employment benefits has been a hot-button topic in the legal community for many years. Fortunately, …

Fair Play: Notes On The Algorithmic Soccer Referee, Michael J. Madison

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The soccer referee stands in for a judge. Soccer’s Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system stands in for algorithms that augment human deciders. Fair play stands in for justice. They are combined and set in a polycentric system of governance, with implications for designing, administering, and assessing human-machine combinations.

Murphy’S Law: How To Avoid Going Wrong With Federal Regulation Of Sports Gambling, Savannah Malnar

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Sports betting plays a major role in how fans and spectators enjoy sports. Fans place bets in their living rooms, engage in online fantasy sports, and travel to Nevada for massive Super Bowl parties just for the thrill of wagering on the “big game.” Yet, until 2018, the federal government banned sports betting, making states unable to exploit this lucrative business, even though the sports betting industry estimates that billions of dollars are spent on illegitimate sports wagering. With the recent striking of the federal ban on the regulation of sports betting, states have begun to benefit from sports betting …

Red Card On Wage Discrimination: Us Soccer Pay Disparity Highlights Inadequacy Of The Equal Pay Act, Hannah L.E. Masters

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In the months leading up to its latest World Cup win, the US Women's National Team sued its parent organization over income inequality in US soccer. Statements from high-profile players, like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, contributed to a national conversation about the gender pay gap that exists not just in soccer but across many professions. The claims of the Women's Team should make for a perfect Equal Pay Act claim, but all signs point to a loss. Instead, the women are far more likely to succeed on their claim arising under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, despite …

The Female Act: Bringing Title Ix Into The Twenty-First Century, Courtney Tibbetts

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

What was once lauded as a progressive champion for women has been decaying in practice. Enacted more than forty-five years ago, Title IX's unforeseen consequences and shortcomings are primarily borne by female collegiate athletes. To comply with Title IX, the majority of college athletic programs follow the proportionality standard, which mandates that male and female participation in athletics must be substantially proportional to universities' overall undergraduate enrollment. Female participation in college athletics has increased to nearly five times the pre-1972 participation rates since the introduction of Title IX. While that progress is admirable, the athletes of today-both male and female-deserve …

Evaluating A Concussion Clause: Why The Nfl's Assumption Of Risk Defense Fares No Better As Time Goes On, Ramsey W. Fisher

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article explores the future of National Football League (NFL) concussion litigation. Currently, hundreds of retired NFL players who previously brought negligence claims against the NFL are seeking compensation under a settlement agreement reached in 2012. With many retired players exempting themselves from the 2012 agreement and current players learning more about the long-term risks of football, the potential for future negligence lawsuits against the NFL is still ripe. In any such suit, a key issue will be the NFLs'assumption of risk defense. The allure of the defense is intuitive-when one chooses to play professional football for a living, he …

Reforming Fifa From The Inside Out, Steven A. Bank

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In response to an unprecedented crisis that has been called "the World Cup of Fraud," the Federation Internationale de Football Association, or FIFA, has undertaken a series of reform measures in the last several years. Most of these reforms have focused on attempting to break the cycle of corruption among football insiders by bringing in more outsiders, including independent chairs of both the Ethics Committee and Audit and Compliance Committee, as well as individuals to serve in executive positions who had not previously been involved in the sport at any level. Such an outsider-focused reform strategy takes a page from …

O Colapso Do "Joga Bonito": How Fifa's Banishment Of Third-Party Ownership Runs Counter To European Union Law And Has Tarnished The Once Beautiful Game, Brendan A. Bailey

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

FIFA banned the practice of third-party ownership, the division and sale of a portion of a football player's economic rights to an outside investor, in 2015. The ban was nondiscriminatory, applying to all types of third-party ownership utilized throughout football. Since then, the practice has all but disappeared internationally, with FIFA quashing occurrences of the practice through large fines and other forms of punishment. FIFA's move to ban the practice came shortly after pressure from leagues that banned it years before--principally the English Premier League, one of the most influential leagues in Europe. However, such a ban was largely propped …

Video Games In The Twenty-First Century: Parallels Between Loot Boxes And Gambling Create An Urgent Need For Regulatory Action, Alexandra M. Prati

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

A loot box is a purchasable in-game digital container holding randomized virtual rewards. In recent years, loot boxes have become increasingly common in video games. A large number of major video game titles now incorporate loot boxes, and loot box sales now eclipse traditional game sales as the primary source of revenue for much of the video game industry. Given that more than half of teenagers play video games for several hours each day, the growth of loot boxes has sparked a contentious debate over whether loot boxes constitute a form of unregulated gambling targeted at children. This Note contributes …

A Twenty-First-Century Olympic And Amateur Sports Act, Dionne L. Koller

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Recent scandals involving national governing bodies for sport and allegations of athlete abuse have captured media attention. The most recent, focusing on the actions of USA Gymnastics, prompted Congress to propose legislation to require better protections for Olympic Movement athletes. Signed into law on February 14, 2018, the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017 designates the United States Center for SafeSport (SafeSport) as the independent organization charged with exercising jurisdiction over the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and sport national governing bodies to safeguard amateur athletes against all forms of abuse. Congress's instincts …

The Non-Recording, Non-Artist" Recording Artist": Expanding The Recording Artist's Brand Into Non-Music Arenas, Suzanne Kessler

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The changing nature of the music business presents earnings challenges for both record labels and recording artists. Historically, labels and artists entered into recording contracts pursuant to which the artists created music which the labels funded, distributed, marketed, and promoted. Many artists made good livings from music sales, earning dollars per album, while the labels profited even more. However, as digital delivery, especially streaming, now supplants physical records as the primary music consumption manner, the money that labels and artists realize from music sales has significantly decreased. In particular, artists earn fractions of pennies per track streamed. Labels, too, are …

A Fair Stream: Recommendations For The Future Of Fair Trade Music, Ricardo Hernandez

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Allied Business Intelligence research suggests that, by 2019, the music streaming industry will reach $46 billion in premium subscription revenues. As the music streaming industry grows, the creators of the musical content appear to be getting left behind. While there are a number of suggestions for why creators of musical content are not receiving their share of the pie, one thing is certain: a new business model is needed. This Note suggests that one possible way to ensure fairness in the music streaming supply chain is through applying the fair trade concept to the music streaming model. As such, this …

College Athlete Rights After O'Bannon: Where Do College Athlete Intellectual Property Rights Go From Here?, Victoria Roessler

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

The recent O'Bannon v. NCAA decision, which gave student athletes a right in products that exploit their image and likeness, will have a profound impact on college athlete rights. This giant step forward will propel student athletes to fight for more intellectual property rights. Following the footsteps of professional athletes, these rights will likely include copyrighting sports moves, touchdown celebrations, and signature phrases as well as trademarking nicknames and touchdown dances. This Note encourages the adoption of a program giving student athletes these rights and allowing them to receive compensation, uncapped, that they would split evenly with his or her …

The International War Against Doping: Limiting The Collateral Damage From Strict Liability, Thomas W. Cox

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the World Anti-Doping Code are largely considered the model for an effective and well-coordinated antidoping regime. This model has allowed numerous sports and various countries to secure the same rules for domestic and international athletes. Within this regime, strict liability for prohibited substances stands as the "cornerstone." Strict liability has allowed antidoping officials to prosecute doping violations through an effective testing regime. However, this principle occasionally implicates innocent athletes with no intention of performance enhancement. This Note proposes that WADA modify its criteria for including substances on the Prohibited List and suspend strict liability …

Is High-Altitude Mountaineering Russian Roulette?, Edward K. Cheng

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Whether the nature of the risks associated with climbing high-altitude (8000 m) peaks is in some sense “controllable” is a longstanding debate in the mountaineering community. Well-known mountaineers David Roberts and Ed Viesturs explore this issue in their recent memoirs. Roberts views the primary risks as “ objective ” or uncontrollable, whereas Viesturs maintains that experience and attention to safety can make a significant difference. This study sheds light on the Roberts-Viesturs debate using a comprehensive dataset of climbing on Nepalese Himalayan peaks. To test whether the data is consistent with a constant failure rate model (Roberts) or a decreasing …

International Student Athletes And Ncaa Amateurism: Setting An Equitable Standard For Eligibility After Proposal 2009-22, Zachary R. Roth

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The United States is often called the land of opportunity. In many ways it has proven so, but this is not always the case. International student athletes are not granted equitable treatment with their American peers under National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) amateurism rules. While the NCAA bylaws, through Proposal 2009-22, grant international student athletes the right to participate on professional teams, the proposal does not give the athletes the ability to truly exercise that right. Through the lens of Turkish basketball player Enes Kanter, this Note explores amendments to NCAA by laws that are necessary for the NCAA to …

Covering The Spread: An Assessment Of Amateurism And Vulnerability Of Student-Athletes In An Emerging Culture Of Sports Wagering, Caitlin D. Buckstaff

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Sports gambling is an extremely lucrative, but scrutinized, industry. Athletic organizations contend that any form of sports wagering adversely affects players, teams, and spectators. They argue that intermingling gambling with sports turns spectators into skeptics and taints honest and fair competition. Congress enacted legislation limiting the scope of permissible sports wagering, but this legislation is under attack by many states advocating its repeal. The expansion of legalized sports wagering poses a threat, particularly on collegiate athletics. By definition, college athletes are amateurs. The definition of amateurism forms the foundation for the regulations governing intercollegiate competition. But, this status coupled with …

Performance Royalties For Sound Recordings On Terrestrial Radio: A Private Solution To A Public Problem, J. P. Urban

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

US copyright law provides for a digital performance right in sound recordings but does not provide for a performance right in sound recordings when broadcast over terrestrial radio. Proponents of this asymmetry posit that the difference relates to the promotional value of terrestrial radio to record labels, but this rationale has eroded in recent years. The recording industry experienced a drastic decline at the turn of the millennium, and record labels have attempted many creative approaches to bridging the profit gap. Major labels and radio conglomerates of late have begun negotiating private contracts that effectively extend the benefits of a …

The Derivative Right, Or Why Copyright Law Protects Foxes Better Than Hedgehogs, Daniel J. Gervais

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The derivative right is at the very core of copyright theory. What can and cannot be reused to create a new work impacts freedom of expression but also impacts the value of the markets for works and their various “derivatives.” The derivative right includes forms of derivation and adaptation, such as making a movie from a novel or translating a book. It also covers what this Article refers to as penumbral derivatives, which the US Copyright Act captures using the phrase “based upon” with respect to preexisting works. This leads to indeterminacy about the scope of the derivative right, which …

Guantanamo's Greatest Hits: The Semiotics Of Sound And The Protection Of Performer Rights Under The Lanham Act, John Tehranian

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As Bruce Springsteen and Ronald Reagan, Jackson Brown and John McCain, and Tom Morello and Paul Ryan can attest, the exploitation of creative works for political or commercial purposes that run contrary to artists' ideals can stir passions and trigger lawsuits. Yet for performers who are not authors of the exploited works, there is little meaningful legal relief provided by the federal Copyright Act. Instead, such performers--from featured singers and dancers to actors and other personalities known for their distinctive traits--have leaned on alternative theories for recovery, thereby raising the specter of liability outside of copyright law for such unwelcome …

Train Wreck (Of The I-Aa), John R. Maney

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In 2009, the Knight Commission, which addresses major problems facing intercollegiate athletics, polled the presidents of the Football Bowl Subdivision schools (I-A schools) about their views on the state of financial affairs in college athletics. Less than 25 percent of those polled thought intercollegiate athletics was sustainable in its present form. As a result, the Commission recommended a series of reforms to help maintain the health of collegiate athletics. Unfortunately, the Commission did not poll the presidents of Football Championship Subdivision schools (I-AA schools). They should have polled those presidents because the I-AA schools' fiscal health is worse. In 2010, …