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Articles 1 - 30 of 39

Full-Text Articles in Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law

Trademark Infringement: The Likelihood Of Confusion Of Nfts In The Us And Eu, Sara Sachs Dec 2023

Trademark Infringement: The Likelihood Of Confusion Of Nfts In The Us And Eu, Sara Sachs

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The immutability of non-fungible tokens has made it an invaluable tool for asset ownership and authentication across a variety of industries. With the proliferation of NFTs comes the need to protect trademarks and prevent consumer confusion in the digital age. This Note explores the existing legal framework for trademark law in the United States and European Union. This Note argues for a new trademark standard that reflects the interconnected nature of a global digital society.

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Copyrighting Compositions: How Inconsistencies Within The Circumstancial Evidence Analysis Affects Musical Composition Copyright Infringement Plaintiffs, Stephanie Stern Dec 2023

Copyrighting Compositions: How Inconsistencies Within The Circumstancial Evidence Analysis Affects Musical Composition Copyright Infringement Plaintiffs, Stephanie Stern

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

To resolve a musical composition copyright infringement case, courts employ the circumstantial evidence analysis. This analysis involves assessing whether the two works are substantially similar and whether the defendant had access to the plaintiff’s copyright-protected work. Despite efforts to keep pace with the rapidly changing world of music creation, these tests have fallen behind: circuits are split with respect to the way they determine substantial similarity, and courts have failed to update the access requirement in the age of the internet. Additionally, courts must adhere to the rules of either the 1909 Copyright Act or the 1976 Copyright Act, depending …

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Navigating Name, Image, And Likeness Policy In College Athletics – Issues And Solutions, Daniel Erber May 2023

Navigating Name, Image, And Likeness Policy In College Athletics – Issues And Solutions, Daniel Erber

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

College athletics, specifically the NCAA, has faced legal challenges throughout its history. In the wake of Alston and other Supreme Court decisions regarding antitrust violations tied to student-athlete benefits, many states proposed and passed laws explicitly allowing student-athletes at NCAA institutions to utilize their names, images, and likenesses for commercial purposes. With the state laws in direct conflict with NCAA rules, college sports entered an era of extreme uncertainty. While the NCAA attempts to maintain its grip on the commercial endeavors of student-athletes and member institutions, states and society are pushing a free market agenda geared towards liberalizing the economic …

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Frustrating Morals: Is There An Implied Reverse Morals Clause In Publishing Agreements?, Matthew L. Fulton May 2023

Frustrating Morals: Is There An Implied Reverse Morals Clause In Publishing Agreements?, Matthew L. Fulton

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In response to the #MeToo movement and the widespread condemnation of public figures for misconduct, book publishers adopted a standard contract provision used in other entertainment industries called a morals clause. Morals clauses allow a publisher to terminate the agreement if the author is subject to public condemnation. Although these provisions provide robust protection for publishers, these one-sided clauses provide no such protection for authors if publishers are subject to similar condemnation. Although authors may not have the leverage to negotiate reciprocal morals clauses, some authors may have an implied reverse morals clause through the frustration of purpose defense to …

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Where In The World: Protecting Indigenous Textiles In Guatemala Through Geographical Indications, Lucie Couillard Sosa Dec 2022

Where In The World: Protecting Indigenous Textiles In Guatemala Through Geographical Indications, Lucie Couillard Sosa

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

There is a current movement by indigenous weavers in Guatemala to protect their textile designs due to the harm caused by the absence of the weavers’ intellectual property ownership over the designs and patterns. The exploitation and appropriation of their designs by domestic and international companies has hurt weavers’ livelihoods and has led to culturally inappropriate and insensitive uses of religious and traditional patterns. Conventional intellectual property law (copyright, trademark, and patent law) fails to protect indigenous peoples’ intellectual property rights. A key weakness within conventional intellectual property law is the emphasis and focus on individuality of the creation process. …

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The Internet Is For Porn…Or Is It? Fair Access To Financial Services And The Need For Onlyporn Legislation, Emily Pollak Dec 2022

The Internet Is For Porn…Or Is It? Fair Access To Financial Services And The Need For Onlyporn Legislation, Emily Pollak

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Historically, the pornography industry has been the target of countless attempts to delegitimize sex work, but it still endures as a legal industry. Nevertheless, financial service providers such as banks and third-party payment processors have circumvented providing the industry fair access to their services, under vague pretexts such as reputational risk. While porn is not the only marginalized industry affected by unfair treatment from financial service providers, it is among the most targeted. This note gives context to this issue and provides that access to the global marketplace should not be limited by financial institutions functioning as de facto legislators, …

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Regulatory Outlook For Derivatives Based On Sports Outcomes, Benjamin Augugliaro Dec 2022

Regulatory Outlook For Derivatives Based On Sports Outcomes, Benjamin Augugliaro

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

This Note dives into the intersection between two distinct areas: sports gambling and derivatives. ErisX had the keen idea to use sports-based futures contracts for hedging purposes, and thought that because of these hedging purposes, it would not be rubbing up against any sports gambling laws. However, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), in charge of regulating the trading of futures contracts, still presented a problem for ErisX. The CFTC prohibits futures contracts involving “gaming,” and while the purpose of these contracts are not speculative, they still involve sports. Therefore, a new CFTC body equipped to deal with sports-based contracts …

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From The Golden Gate To London: Bridging The Gap Between Data Privacy And The Right Of Publicity, Kristin Kuraishi Dec 2021

From The Golden Gate To London: Bridging The Gap Between Data Privacy And The Right Of Publicity, Kristin Kuraishi

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Currently, there is no global standard or recognition for the right of publicity. Even within the United States, the recognition, scope, and protections vary by state. As the world becomes increasingly reliant on social media for news, information, communication, and recommendations, micro-influencers and non-celebrities require a way to control their developed and curated name, image, and likeness from unauthorized commercial uses by others. Advertising is occurring more frequently online, and brands recognize the power that micro-influencers have on commerce. Some countries, like the United Kingdom, do not recognize the right of publicity, potentially leaving many individuals without recourse for the …

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Level-Up: Towards A More Competitive & Labor-Friendly E-Sports Industry, Andrew Ramstad Dec 2021

Level-Up: Towards A More Competitive & Labor-Friendly E-Sports Industry, Andrew Ramstad

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Despite humble beginnings, the advent of the modern internet has seen the explosion of e-sports into an industry commanding hundreds of millions of annual viewers and nearly a billion dollars in annual advertising revenue. Facilitating this expansion has been a shift from independently run competitive e-sports leagues to leagues created and operated by the developers of the league’s underlying game. This vertical integration by developers increases e-sports accessibility to viewers, but at the cost of decreased player bargaining power and professional flexibility. The integration further incentivizes ever-increasing working hours and self-destructive or rule-breaking behavior by players to stay competitive. This …

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The Case For An International Solution To The Restitution Of Cultural Property: Morality, Legality And Righting Western Wrongs, Ariana Catarisano Dec 2021

The Case For An International Solution To The Restitution Of Cultural Property: Morality, Legality And Righting Western Wrongs, Ariana Catarisano

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

In 2020, the conversation surrounding the return of cultural property acquired during the colonial era was given new life after the world watched as Black Lives Matter activists exposed systemic racial injustice in the United States. Thousands of objects currently sit in western museums under the guise of sharing these cultures and civilizations with the world, but this brings little comfort to communities suffering the genocidal consequences of colonialism. As formerly colonized nations battle the western world for the return of their cultural property, success is often dictated by a combination of power, money, and the ability to turn the …

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Copystrikes And Meme Bans: Social Media And Copyright Protections In The Digital Age, Angelina Sanchez Dec 2021

Copystrikes And Meme Bans: Social Media And Copyright Protections In The Digital Age, Angelina Sanchez

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Social media is a pervasive and ever-present aspect of many peoples’ lives. Its use permeates nearly every aspect of our existence – there truly is an app for everything. Most notably, social media operates internationally both in scope and usage allowing for the creation of an astounding global society that shares cultures and perspectives in a way unprecedented in human history. Never before have societies been as interconnected as they are now. Unfortunately, such interconnectedness comes with the issue of globalizing enforcement of copyright laws. Infringement runs rampant online and forces creators to struggle against a seemingly faceless foe in …

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A Half-Built House: The Substantial Similarity Analysis Split In Architectural Copyright Infringement Cases, Madison V. Smiley Sep 2021

A Half-Built House: The Substantial Similarity Analysis Split In Architectural Copyright Infringement Cases, Madison V. Smiley

Brooklyn Law Review

The path to extending copyright protection to architectural works in the United States has not come without its challenges, especially as the federal courts continue to muddle through complicated and varying case law to determine whether architectural works infringement has occurred in a given dispute. Applying a uniform approach to analyze substantial similarity in a way that effectively protects architectural works across the federal circuits is necessary to fulfill the legislative intent and the constitutional intent of copyright protection. Likewise, a uniform approach will clarify the level of copyright protection that architectural works are permitted to receive in the United …

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An Uneven Playing Field: Remedying The Professional Sports Wage Gap By Revising The Equal Pay Act, Melissa C. Felcher Sep 2021

An Uneven Playing Field: Remedying The Professional Sports Wage Gap By Revising The Equal Pay Act, Melissa C. Felcher

Brooklyn Law Review

Despite winning numerous World Cup championships and securing the title as the number one female soccer team in the world, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) has taken the silver medal to its male counterpart, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), in one specific area: compensation. In an effort to level the playing field, the USWNT recently filed a lawsuit under the Equal Pay Act (EPA) against its single common employer, United States Soccer Federation (USSF), which owns both the USWNT and the USMNT. At first blush, it might be hard to reconcile this phenomenon. However, upon closer …

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The Hunt For Loot: Proposed Solutions To More Effectively Regulate Addictive Gambling Mechanics In Video Games, Andrew Brewer Dec 2020

The Hunt For Loot: Proposed Solutions To More Effectively Regulate Addictive Gambling Mechanics In Video Games, Andrew Brewer

Journal of Law and Policy

Over the past decade, more and more video game developers have embraced “loot boxes” as a lucrative source of revenue. But recent concerns over the potential harms of loot boxes, particularly to children, have raised questions about their use and prompted attempts to regulate them throughout the world. This Note explores recent attempts—both foreign and domestic—to regulate loot boxes and proposes new solutions based on those strategies’ shortcomings. By carefully and competently defining terms and exceptions, and providing for more aggressive oversight of agency regulatory efforts, federally-crafted loot box legislation can more effectively protect children from predatory gambling mechanics in …

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Preserving Fabled Amateurism: The Benefits Of The Ncaa’S Adoption Of The Olympic Amateurism Model, John Kealey Dec 2020

Preserving Fabled Amateurism: The Benefits Of The Ncaa’S Adoption Of The Olympic Amateurism Model, John Kealey

Journal of Law and Policy

After a century of denying student-athletes from receiving compensation outside the cost of attendance for their athletic contributions to their respective universities, the NCAA finally announced it would change its amateurism rule. The change came in response to multiple class action lawsuits and, more recently, legislation from many states, namely California and New York, which would have mandated that universities do not interfere with student-athletes desire to commercially exploit their own names, image, and likenesses. However, these statutes are potentially flawed in that each could exacerbate or perpetuate the anti-trust and first amendment issues inherent to the current amateurism rule. …

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Criminalizing Match-Fixing As America Legalized Sports Gambling, Jodi Balsam Oct 2020

Criminalizing Match-Fixing As America Legalized Sports Gambling, Jodi Balsam

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

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Breaking Up Melodic Monopolies: A New Approach To Originality, Substantial Similarity, And Fair Use For Melodies In Pop Music, Johannes Hoffman May 2020

Breaking Up Melodic Monopolies: A New Approach To Originality, Substantial Similarity, And Fair Use For Melodies In Pop Music, Johannes Hoffman

Journal of Law and Policy

Progress in the arts—the fundamental goal of copyright law in the United States—requires a balance between granting creators exclusive rights over their works and allowing others the room to create new works. This is particularly crucial in pop music, where melodies are composed within narrow musical structures out of a limited set of notes. Recent verdicts, however, have shown that courts are becoming more willing to find copyright infringement based on relatively simple melodies in pop music, even where such melodies do not constitute the “hook” or most memorable part of the allegedly infringing work. This Note posits that, in …

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Bargaining Over Biometrics: How Player Unions Should Protect Athletes In The Age Of Wearable Technology, Skyler R. Berman Apr 2020

Bargaining Over Biometrics: How Player Unions Should Protect Athletes In The Age Of Wearable Technology, Skyler R. Berman

Brooklyn Law Review

From governments to businesses and entertainment-like professional sports, society is slow to adjust to rapid technological change. State and federal governments are similarly tepid to regulate emerging technologies, and many industries fail to promptly alter their strategies to account for such changes. This note focuses on how the major sports leagues have yet to adequately address biometric data derived from wearable technology in their respective collective bargaining agreements. This lack of clarity presents a multitude of issues spanning from data ownership, privacy and publicity rights to labor and employment protections. Consequently, professional athletes have, at best, limited rights to their …

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Kicking The Law: The Effects Of Fifa Regulations On A World Cup Host Country’S Legislative Process In Regards To Intellectual Property Protection, Nicole-Amanda Brandofino Dec 2019

Kicking The Law: The Effects Of Fifa Regulations On A World Cup Host Country’S Legislative Process In Regards To Intellectual Property Protection, Nicole-Amanda Brandofino

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Brand protection is highly sought after by large organizations that seek to monetize valuable intellectual property. At the international level, treaties such as the TRIPS Agreement allow for protection amongst signatory nations. As a leader in the international sports field, FIFA has capitalized on its well-known brand throughout the world through the selling of merchandise and licensing to influential third parties. With the occurrence of the World Cup every four years, FIFA strives to uphold the high revenue it earns through its wide intellectual property portfolio. As the World Cup host country prepares for the tournament, it must abide by …

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Discounts For Fractional Ownership Of Real Property Are Accepted, So Why Haven’T The Irs And Courts Accepted Discounts For Fractional Ownership Of Artwork?, Maren N. Eisenmesser Dec 2019

Discounts For Fractional Ownership Of Real Property Are Accepted, So Why Haven’T The Irs And Courts Accepted Discounts For Fractional Ownership Of Artwork?, Maren N. Eisenmesser

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

In 2014, the Fifth Circuit held that Mr. Elkins’s estate was entitled to apply a fractional ownership discount to determine the taxable value of the undivided interest in artwork. The estate received a $14 million refund plus interest. The Internal Revenue Code directs taxpayers to value the items in a gross estate at their fair market value. Fractional ownership adds another problem in the valuation of an estate’s interest property. In general, courts have accepted fractional ownership discounts for real property. In contrast, courts have been reluctant to apply a fractional ownership discount for artwork. This Note will argue that …

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Shoring Up The Hear Act: Proposed Amendments To Federal Legislation Designed To Assist Heirs And Claimants Of Nazi-Looted Art, Alexander Hull Dec 2019

Shoring Up The Hear Act: Proposed Amendments To Federal Legislation Designed To Assist Heirs And Claimants Of Nazi-Looted Art, Alexander Hull

Journal of Law and Policy

From 1933 to 1945, Nazi German forces executed a mass campaign of property confiscation, stealing as many as 600,000 pieces of art, including paintings, tapestries and sculptures from museums and private collections across Europe. It is estimated that some 300,000 pieces of art are still missing or are currently in the possession of someone other than the so-called “true” owner, based on reviews of Nazi documentation conducted by the Jewish Restitution Organization. While Nazi art looting has been regarded as “dehumanizing,” “self-advancing” and concomitant with the Nazi regime’s larger genocidal crusade, restitution in this context has been framed as a …

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High Stakes: Throwing A Hail Mary To Congress For A Federal Ban On Sports Betting In College Athletics, Kaitlyn Kallert Dec 2019

High Stakes: Throwing A Hail Mary To Congress For A Federal Ban On Sports Betting In College Athletics, Kaitlyn Kallert

Journal of Law and Policy

The Supreme Court’s 2018 decision overruling the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act’s (“PASPA”) federal prohibition on sports betting as unconstitutional under the Tenth Amendment has cleared the way for states to legalize sports gambling, which, in turn, has proven a controversial subject. Supporters of state legalization of sports gambling “argue that legalization will generate revenue for states and critically weaken illegal sports betting operations, which are often commissioned by organized crime.” However, as the Supreme Court notes, opponents contend that the legalization of sports betting will expose America’s youth to accessible gambling, “encourage people of modest means to squander …

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A Third Way Of Thinking About Cultural Property, Lucas Lixinski Jul 2019

A Third Way Of Thinking About Cultural Property, Lucas Lixinski

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The article argues that the dichotomy between nationalism and internationalism with respect to cultural property, while formative, has outlived its utility, and in many respects compromised the viability of the public good it aims to safeguard. Focused on the example of cultural property in international law, this article argues for more community-centric forms of governance, beyond the interests of states and an undefined “international.” It extrapolates the lessons from cultural property to other forms of resource governance in international law.

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“Why Did Constantinople Get The Works? That’S Nobody’S Business But The Turks.” A New Approach To Cultural Property Claims And Geographic Renaming Under The 1970 Unesco Convention, Kasey Theresa Mahoney Jul 2019

“Why Did Constantinople Get The Works? That’S Nobody’S Business But The Turks.” A New Approach To Cultural Property Claims And Geographic Renaming Under The 1970 Unesco Convention, Kasey Theresa Mahoney

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The landscape of cultural property and cultural heritage discourse is continually evolving, and the traditional means of regulating disputes must not only be adapted to the current climate but proactively address foreseeable future concerns. This Note explores the Republic of Turkey’s increasing litigiousness with regard to its reparation claims and, further, considers the notion of culture as geographic boundaries transform over the course of time. This Note will analyze the leading international cultural property treaty, the 1970 UNESCO Convention, and recommend UNESCO adopt two mandates to curb the chilling effect current litigation has had on the preservation and dissemination of …

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Playing Fair: Youtube, Nintendo, And The Lost Balance Of Online Fair Use, Natalie Marfo May 2019

Playing Fair: Youtube, Nintendo, And The Lost Balance Of Online Fair Use, Natalie Marfo

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Over the past decade, YouTube saw an upsurge in the popularity of “Let’s Play” videos. While positive for YouTube, this uptick was not without controversy. Let’s Play videos use unlicensed copyrighted materials, frustrating copyright holders. YouTube attempted to curb such usages by demonetizing and removing thousands of Let’s Play videos. Let’s Play creators struck back, arguing that the fair use doctrine protects their works. An increasing number of powerful companies, like Nintendo, began exploiting the ambiguity of the fair use doctrine against the genre; forcing potentially legal works to request permission and payment for Let’s Play videos, without a determination …

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On The Clock, Best Bet To Draft Cyberdefensive Linemen: Federal Regulation Of Sports Betting From A Cybersecurity Perspective, William H. Williams May 2019

On The Clock, Best Bet To Draft Cyberdefensive Linemen: Federal Regulation Of Sports Betting From A Cybersecurity Perspective, William H. Williams

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

On May 14, 2018, Justice Alito delivered the majority opinion for the United States Supreme Court in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Professional and Amateur Protection Act (PASPA), a twenty-six-year-old federal statute, was deemed unconstitutional; thus, this decision allows state legislatures to legalize sports betting within their borders. With many states independently legalizing sports gambling, the regulatory landscape throughout the country is becoming a patchwork of state statutes. Additionally, top tier sporting organizations heavily depend on data analytics to formulate game plan strategy, train efficiently, rehab player injuries, gauge team and player performance, etc. The popularity of …

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A Fixed Game: The Frustrations Of Ticket Scalping And The Realities Of Its Solutions, Dylan C. Porcello Oct 2018

A Fixed Game: The Frustrations Of Ticket Scalping And The Realities Of Its Solutions, Dylan C. Porcello

Brooklyn Law Review

Due to the rapid growth of the secondary resale market, purchasing tickets at their face-value price is becoming a fleeting expectation. While ticket scalping has existed quite possibly as long as tickets themselves have, innovations in invasive purchasing practices are leading to unprecedented profit margins for ticket scalpers and a greater distance between consumers and the original ticket sale. With ticket scalpers employing advanced ticket purchasing software, referred to as bots, consumers are left with no option but to surrender to steep resale prices, which often have no ceiling. Though ticket scalping regulation has developed, these legislative efforts have been …

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Passing The Baton: The Effect Of The International Olympic Committee's Weak Anti-Doping Laws In Dealing With The 2016 Russian Olympic Team, Saroja Cuffey Jun 2018

Passing The Baton: The Effect Of The International Olympic Committee's Weak Anti-Doping Laws In Dealing With The 2016 Russian Olympic Team, Saroja Cuffey

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Following the investigation of a Russian state-sponsored doping ploy prior to the Olympic Games in Rio 2016; the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided against a blanket ban of the Russian Olympic team. Instead; it allowed athletes’ individual international federations to decide whether Russian athletes could compete. In following the various anti-doping laws in place; the IOC sought to protect and give justice to clean athletes around the world. This Note argues that they did not achieve this result; due to the anti-doping laws in place and the actors applying these laws. It suggests that there should be a universal anti-doping …

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Remnants Of Net Neutrality: Policing Unlawful Content Through Broadband Providers, Aaron Lerman Jun 2018

Remnants Of Net Neutrality: Policing Unlawful Content Through Broadband Providers, Aaron Lerman

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The 2015 Open Internet Order, released by The Federal Communication Commission (FCC), introduced sweeping, new rules that promised to preserve an equal and open Internet to consumers. These rules, otherwise known as “Net Neutrality,” prohibited broadband and internet service providers from impairing, blocking, or throttling access to “lawful content” online. But with a new administration and agenda, the FCC’s 2017 Restoring Internet Freedom Order repealed Net Neutrality. Since then, various states have pushed back against the repeal, with some adopting their own versions of the 2015 Open Internet Order’s Net Neutrality, keeping most of the rule language intact, including the …

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Video Review; Routine Data Sharing Practices Place Video-Streaming Providers In The Crosshairs Of The Video Privacy Protection Act, Jeremiah P. Ledwidge Dec 2017

Video Review; Routine Data Sharing Practices Place Video-Streaming Providers In The Crosshairs Of The Video Privacy Protection Act, Jeremiah P. Ledwidge

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

The Video Privacy Protection Act of 1988 (VPPA) creates a private cause of action for any consumer whose personally identifiable information has been disclosed by a video tape service provider to a third party. The rapid growth of media companies that provide free internet-based video-streaming services, and the technologically-advanced advertising methods employed to fund this business model, have created uncertainty regarding the specific consumer segments the VPPA is designed to protect. The extensive role that third-party providers play in the collection, analysis, and segmentation of user data in the personalized advertising process raises justifiable privacy concerns for consumers. Recent VPPA …

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