Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Understanding And Regulating The Sport Of Mixed Martial Arts, Brendan S. Maher

Faculty Scholarship

The past fifteen years have seen the emergence of a new sport in America and around the world: mixed martial arts (“MMA”). MMA is an interdisciplinary combat sport whose participants engage in and combine a variety of fighting disciplines (e.g., kickboxing, wrestling, karate, jiu-jitsu, and so on) within one match.

In this Article, I examine and analyze the sport’s evolution, articulate a theory of sporting legitimacy, supply a conceptual taxonomy of regulation, and highlight potential reform. More specifically, my foundational treatment proceeds as follows. I first explain the modern history and development of MMA, tracing it from its shaggy, brutish …

The Graduated Response, Peter K. Yu

Faculty Scholarship

In the past few years, the entertainment industry has deployed aggressive tactics toward individual end-users, online service providers, and other third parties. One of the latest proposals that the industry has been exploring is the so-called “graduated response” or “three strikes” system, which threatens to suspend the service of internet users after they have received two warnings from their ISPs about potentially illegal online file-sharing activities.

In December 2008, the RIAA made a formal public announcement of its change of focus toward greater cooperation with ISPs. This new collaborative effort seeks to replace the highly unpopular lawsuits the industry has …