Law Commons^™

United We Stand: The Anti-Competitive Implications Of Media Ownership Of Athletic Teams In Great Britain, Jonathan E. Bush

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note analyzes the increasing integration of the sports and broadcasting industries and the British framework for evaluating the permissibility of transactions furthering such integration. In the context of the recent attempted takeover of British football club Manchester United by Rupert Murdoch's British Sky Broadcasting, the Note examines how the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC) was uniquely poised to fully consider the ramifications of this developing nexus of sports and media and evaluates the significance of the MMC's decision on the future of both industries.

A diverse array of domestic, international, political, and economic issues and implications face any court …

Phoenix Rising: Inside The Owner's Box With Counsel To Jerry Colangelo, J. S. Ruffner

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In late spring of 1987, I received a telephone call that changed my law practice. Jerry Colangelo, General Manager of the Suns since its arrival in Phoenix as an expansion NBA franchise in 1969, called me to discuss representing a group of investors he was putting together for the purchase of the franchise. At the time, the Suns franchise was the only major professional sports team in Arizona and had been very successful. Unfortunately, the reputation of the team, carefully nurtured from its arrival, recently had been tarnished by allegations and investigations concerning drugs. Jerry explained that the Tucson and …

Changing The Rules: Why The Current "Actual Knowledge" Sexual Harrasment Standard Doesn't Make The Cut In Athletics, Andrea Ivory

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

In clear cases of sexual harassment, it is easy and appropriate to punish improper, predatory behavior. In such cases, the victim will be compelled to report the abuse, and the school will be compelled to respond. But the athletic environment occupies the blurry periphery of conduct that violates personhood. Here, in the sports context, intimate contact is routine, whether in heated moments on the field or in the forced companionship on the road. There is an increased risk of sexual harassment because the very environment is characterized by close physical and emotional relationships as well as unequal power relations. Physical …

What Hath Ovitz Wrouqht: Agents V. Managers Revisited, Donald E. Biederman

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

For more than 60 years, a feud has raged between artists' managers and talent agents. In part, this has to do with philosophical differences concerning the role which each plays in the development and furtherance of their clients' careers, and in part it concerns the levels of compensation each can receive. As a general rule of thumb, the job of an agent is to find work for his/her clients, whereas the job of a manager is to guide and develop the client's career. Of equal importance is the manner in which they are regarded by prevailing law. Agents have been …

Music, Money, And The Middleman: The Relationship Between The Songwriter And The Publisher, Cornelius Cowles

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

Money, along with creative drive and the chance to work in an exciting industry, push the publisher and songwriter both. This article seeks to help the songwriter under-stand the role of the music publisher, an indispensable and unavoidable part of the country music industry. It examines the songwriter-publisher relationship from the perspective of those people active in the industry and examines criticism of the publisher's role. It further analyzes the typically thorny legal and contractual issues faced by the songwriter in negotiating an exclusive songwriting agreement with the publisher. Finally, recognizing the special role of songwriters in Nashville, it addresses …