Law Commons^™

The Power And Failure Of Fifa To Be A Force For Lgbtq And Human Rights, Issac Gamboa

AELJ Blog

The FIFA World Cup began in November, and with it, the attention of an anticipated three billion viewers turned to this year’s host nation Qatar. Qatar is the first Middle Eastern country to host the event and has spent billions of dollars to quickly build the infrastructure necessary to host the tournament. But as Qatar worked to improve its infrastructure for the tournament, concerns over the host nation’s discriminatory laws against the LGBTQ community caused many to wonder how the strictly religious Arab country could accommodate such a diverse fanbase.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & …

Netflix Copyright Lawsuit Results In Final Curtain For “Unofficial Bridgerton Musical.” Could Other Fanworks Be Next?, Madeleine Higgs

AELJ Blog

Shortly after the first season of the Netflix television show Bridgerton debuted, another project began. Struggling musician Abigail Barlow found inspiration in the show, which she felt had an inherent quality that lent itself perfectly to a Broadway-style musical. After a clip of herself singing a Bridgerton-inspired song went viral on TikTok, Barlow teamed up with fellow musician Emily Bear, and the work to create a full album based on the show began in earnest. Hype continued to build throughout the songwriting process, as Barlow and Bear’s songs amassed roughly thirty-six million likes on TikTok, and before long, the album …

The Pga Tour V. Liv Golf: The Antitrust Case, Alexandria Ciadrullo

AELJ Blog

There has been controversy in the world of professional golf over recent months with the emergence of LIV Golf. Funded by Saudi Arabia’s Sovereign Wealth Fund, LIV has undergone criticism for being a tool used to “sportswash” Saudi Arabia’s terrible human rights record and improve the image of the Kingdom. Despite these critiques, LIV has managed to entice ten of the world’s top-fifty golfers by offering hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on November 9, 2022. The original post can be accessed via the …

Buyer Beware: Avoiding Pitfalls When Buying Fine Art, Gerard Ng, Vincent Ooi

Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law

Our article introduces the reader to crucial concepts such as provenance, authenticity and ownership of fine art. It explains how one can check the established art databases and registers to conduct due diligence searches.We also explain the importance of a written contract for both buyers and sellers. The current common practice of transacting without a written contract can lead to considerable difficulties if issues with the artwork are discovered in the future.At the minimum, a contract should make it clear that the seller has the full responsibility for the accuracy of the provenance, particularly in cases where the artwork has …

Ed Sheeran Copyright Victory Highlights Issues In The Music Industry, Shayna Grife

AELJ Blog

Ed Sheeran won a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against him for alleged copyright infringement in his popular song “Shape of You” in 2018.The Grammy-winning song, which also holds the title of the most streamed song on Spotify, was accused of being too similar to “Oh Why” by Sami Switch. The lawsuit raised questions for the music industry as to the issues associated with the increase of copyright infringement suits and the damaging effects that they may have on the music industry.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on October 4, 2022. The …

Labeling “The Last Prisoners:” New Legislation Requires New York Museums To Identify Nazi-Looted Artwork, Stephanny Avshalomov

AELJ Blog

“[S]he walked through the apartment and she turned to the SS men and she said, ‘Ich habe gernes. Alles.’ – ‘I like it. All of it.’ … they took everything out of [ ] our house.” The “greatest art theft in history” was executed alongside the largest mass murder in history. In 1940, Hitler established the Einsatztab Reichsleither Rosenberg (ERR) solely to confiscate and destroy art in German-occupied territories. When discussing the Holocaust, which included the grueling systematic annihilation of European Jews, the importance of artwork seems trivial. It, however, must be recognized: “You can wipe out an entire generation, …

Book Ban Opponents Face An Uphill Battle With Current Discretionary Review Standards, Zach Cihlar

AELJ Blog

On October 25th, 2021, Texas State Representative Matt Krause, in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee on General Investigating, circulated a letter addressed to the Texas Education Agency and school-district superintendents. The letter requested that superintendents identify and investigate a list of 800 books possibly held in their districts’ libraries that might contain topics ranging from human sexuality to HIV/AIDS to any material that “might make students feel discomfort, guilt, anguish . . . or psychological distress because of their race or sex . . . .”

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law …

70 Years Of Dance: Copyrighting Choreography Since 1952, Annie Planker

AELJ Blog

Choreography has long been a subject of controversy in the world of copyright. Despite its significance in the artistic community and the rise of social media in our everyday lives, choreography has not received the same property protections as other artforms, such as music, painting or sculpture. This is partly due to the transient nature of choreography; copyright law requires “fixed expressions” of works. It is also due to a legal hesitation to limit “social” arts. Lawmakers have little desire to prohibit large masses from participating in cultural activities.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment …

Anticipating The New “Green Guides”: Ftc Promises Review Of Environmental Marketing Guidance, Frances Bandas

AELJ Blog

The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) is poised to review its “Green Guides,” a series of guidelines issued to help marketers make nondeceptive environmental claims that comply with federal regulations. Guidance is supplied for claims about a product or its packaging, claims made in connection with a sale or service, and all forms of marketing claims.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on September 20, 2022. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

Can The Big Five Of Publishing Become The Big Four?, Olivia Nacionales

AELJ Blog

On March 4, 2020, ViacomCBS announced its intention to sell its book-publishing subsidiary, Simon & Schuster. This announcement came less than a year after the merger between Viacom and CBS. Since the 2019 merger, ViacomCBS decided to focus on television and video and began selling its smaller companies that do not have a “significant connection for [its] broader business.” Prior to the announcement to buy Simon & Schuster, ViacomCBS had received “unsolicited inbound calls” regarding the sale of the book publishing company.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on September 20, 2022. …

Fashion In The Times Of War: The Recent Exodus Of Luxury Brands From Russia And What It Means For Trademark Law, Irene Calboli, Vera Sevastianova

Faculty Scholarship

In February 2022, Russia infamously invaded Ukraine, starting an unprovoked war. As a result, many foreign companies left their Russia-based operations, including most luxury fashion houses. In these remarks, we elaborate on the possible issues that these companies may face regarding the enforcement of their IP rights in Russia, particularly trademark rights, following their departure resulting from the sanctions imposed by Western countries.

At the time of writing, perhaps the most pressing issue is whether luxury fashion houses risk losing their trademark rights in Russia due to their decision to suspend their operations, even though temporarily. An additional issue facing …

Cardozo Aelj’S Statement On Yu’S Appeal To Scotus, Editorial Board

AELJ Blog

The Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (“AELJ”) strongly and unequivocally condemns Yeshiva University’s treatment of its LGBTQ+ undergraduate students. New York courts found that Yeshiva University’s refusal to recognize and fund the undergraduate LGBTQ+ group, Pride Alliance, was in violation of NYC Human Rights Law because Yeshiva University is chartered as an educational corporation, receives public funds, and is, therefore, not eligible for the Human Rights Law religious corporation exemption. Yeshiva now petitions the Supreme Court of the United States to stay that judgment so it may continue to discriminate against LGBTQ+ students in the name of religious freedom. …

Hoosier Athletes Get An Assist From Law Students Through Name, Image And Likeness Initiative, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Student-athletes at Indiana University Bloomington will get an assist from their peers at the IU Maurer School of Law under a new Name, Image and Likeness Initiative through the school’s Center for Intellectual Property Research.

As student-athletes navigate the still-emerging complexities of the NCAA’s new policy surrounding name, image and likeness — also referred to as NIL — they’ll now have a homefield advantage: one of the country’s top intellectual property clinics.

Conor Delehanty Is A Standup Guy, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

No abstract provided.

The Fiction Of Nfts And Copyright Infringement, Emily T. Behzadi

Faculty Scholarship

In the first quarter of 2021, the sales of art in the form of Non-Fungible Tokens (“NFTs”) reached over $200 billion dollars. The arrival of NFTs in the mainstream art market has profoundly shaped the way artists exploit their works. This sensational boom has attracted some of the world's biggest names across pop culture and sports, including celebrities such as Snoop Dogg, Paris Hilton, Post Malone, Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, to create their own NFT art. Director Quentin Tarantino has also capitalized on this craze through the creation of an NFT collection based on the film Pulp Fiction. However, …

Hip Hop And The Law : Presented By Intellectual Property Law Association 03/31/2022, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Conferences, Lectures & Events

No abstract provided.

Title Ix Sex Discrimination & Negligence Lawsuit Against Fargo Public School District & The Board Of Education Partially Dismissed, Emily J. Houghton

Human Performance Department Publications

Brian and Jennifer Berg filed a lawsuit as individuals and on behalf of their daughter Regan against the Fargo Public School District (FPSD) and the Board of Education in the City of Fargo in 2021. They argued that Regan faced sex discrimination, deliberate indifference under Title IX, the FPSD Handbook and negligence from FPSD following an alleged sexual assault by a male student off-campus.

It's Not Child's Play: A Regulatory Approach To Reforming American Youth Sports, N. Jeremi Duru

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

Introduction The American youth sports industry has become an economic behemoth, totaling roughly $19 billion in annual revenue. This revenue outpaces National Football League (NFL) revenue by several billion dollars and is more than double the revenue earned by the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, combined. The Covid-19 pandemic limited sport on all levels in 2020 and, to a lesser extent, in 2021, and the economic effects thereof will certainly stretch forward into succeeding years. However, as the nation overcomes the virus and children return in full numbers to gyms, fields, tracks, and rinks, youth sports will …

Title Ix At 50: Exploring The Impact Of The Law On Cases Of Sexual Misconduct And Participation Equity In Athletics, Erica J. Zonder, Emily J. Houghton

Human Performance Department Publications

June 23, 2022 will mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX; during that time frame there has been a drastic increase in girl’s and women’s participation in sport. There has also been significant political debate and push back to Title IX which has threatened to undermine the impact of the law. Over the last 10 years, Title IX has been synonymous with litigation related to sexual harassment and transgender athlete participation in sport. Additionally, universities have continually sought to cut women’s sports under the guise of budgetary constraints. The purpose of this poster presentation is three-fold: 1) Review recent case …

Here’S Why It’S Time The Lanham Act Recognizes Personal Brands, Golden Gate University School Of Law

GGU Law Review Blog

The Lanham Act defines and governs trademarks, service marks, and unfair competition, all to protect American consumers from market confusion. Under the Lanham Act, a mark is famous if it is “widely recognizable to the general consuming public of the United States.” When a celebrity brings a claim under the Lanham Act for the unauthorized use of their image, courts may find that the celebrity’s name and image constitute an unregistered trademark, while the celebrity’s persona is the goods or services which the celebrity places into commerce. To analyze the claim, several factors help determine the likelihood of market confusion. …

Terminated Asu Women's Lacrosse Coach Files Retaliation And Wrongful Termination Lawsuit, Erica J. Zonder, Emily J. Houghton

Human Performance Department Publications

Courtney Connor, the former women’s lacrosse coach at Arizona State University, sued the University and the Arizona Board of Regents (collectively, “ASU”) for Title VII and Title IX retaliation, as well as wrongful termination.

The Ballad Of Hicks Carmichael: Law, Music, And Popular Justice In Urban Appalachia, William Davenport Mercer

Scholarly Works

This article examines a rare folk ballad to revisit an 1888 Tennessee trial that newspapers referred to as the fastest in the country in which the death penalty was involved. If we look at this event using court records and newspapers, it tells a regrettably common story of a court under pressure from the populace skirting the protections of law. However, if we consider the trial as a performative endeavor, we can rightly consider other performative events, like folk songs, not as reflective of official events but as equivalents that help provide insight into the larger motives behind the court’s …

Mechanical Licenses And The Willing Buyer/Willing Seller Standard: Establishing Royalty Rates In A Vacuum Of Knowledge, Natalie Linn

Articles

No abstract provided.

Intellectual Property And Tabletop Games, Christopher B. Seaman, Thuan Tran

Scholarly Articles

There is a rich body of literature regarding intellectual property’s (“IP”) “negative spaces”—fields where creation and innovation thrive without significant formal protection from IP law. Scholars have written about innovation in diverse fields despite weak or nonexistent IP rights, such as fashion design, fine cuisine, stand-up comedy, magic tricks, tattoos, and sports plays. Instead, these fields rely on social norms, first- mover advantage, and other (non-IP) legal regimes to promote innovation in the absence of IP protection.

As a comparison to these studies, this Article comprehensively analyzes the role of IP law in facilitating innovation in tabletop gaming, including board …

The Legality Of Online Daily Fantasy Sports Versus The Illegality Of Online Poker, John J. Chung

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Assessing Amateurism In College Sports, Casey E. Faucon

Articles

College sports generate approximately $8 billion each year for the National C[artel] Athletic Association and its member institutions. Most of this revenue flows from lucrative television broadcasting deals, which often incorporate the right to commercialize and sell the names, images, and likenesses of college athletes. Under its current revenue scheme, student-athletes-85 percent of whom live below the poverty line-receive a share of zero. For over a century, we've justified this exploitative distribution scheme under a cloak of student-athlete "amateurism." Antitrust challenges to the NCAA's amateurism rules clash with the assumption that "amateurism" is a revered tradition and an important tenet …

Concussion Safety Law Should Be Enacted In All Canadian Provinces And Territories, Marcus Moore, Charles H. Tator

All Faculty Publications

The concussion crisis in sports remains an important public health issue. Indeed, it is cited by 97% of Canadians as a major public health concern.

“No Skateboarding Allowed”: Municipal Bylaws, Urban Common And Public Property, And The Regulation Of “Undesirable” Or “Disruptive Use", Sara Gwendolyn Ross

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The mechanics of daily local inequality and marginalization can be readily observed within the language of local bylaws that govern urban spaces and places and their use — whether these govern the hours and types of use that can be made of local “public” parks, spaces where loitering is identified as unwelcome, or how and where certain activities can take place. While affinity spaces can be, on the one hand, welcomed and celebrated for the mentorship of youth, extracurricular activity, environmentally friendly transportation, or as a skill-building goal-oriented endeavour, the language of bylaws creates an ecosystem equally predisposed to prohibiting …

Federal District Court Refuses To Dismiss Challenge To West Virginia Law Banning Trans Girls From Scholastic Athletic Competition, Arthur S. Leonard

Other Publications

No abstract provided.

Caster Semenya And The Policing Of Competitive Athletic Advantage, Taylor Vann

Connecticut Law Review

In recent years, transgender and intersex athletes competing in track and field have come under intense scrutiny. The most notable of these athletes at the elite level is Caster Semenya of South Africa. Semenya has been accused of benefiting from an unfair competitive advantage due to her natural biological makeup. In response, international track and field’s governing body has promulgated multiple regulations to address athletes like Semenya. This article examines these regulations and their impact on transgender and intersex athletes at multiple levels of competition, It argues that these regulations and similar attempts under Title IX in the United States …