Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

El Mercado De Pescado – The Dembow Fish Market Case: Browne V. Donalds, Catherine Stagliano

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The billion-dollar Latin music industry is facing its most formidable opponent yet: Steely & Clevie.[1] While this name may be unfamiliar, the musical duo has raised a crucial issue against a seemingly settled principle of copyright infringement: whether a rhythm is copyrightable.[2] The rhythm in question is reportedly an integral part of the entire genre of reggaeton.[3] Nonetheless, Steely & Clevie decided to sue over 100 Defendants—including Bad Bunny, the most streamed artist in the world—for copyright infringement across almost 4,000 songs.[4] Now, one copyright infringement case has the power to dictate the future of reggaeton and severely disrupt music …

A Corporation For Artists, Or An Artist’S Corporation?: An Analysis Of Colorado Bill 26-133, Andrea Yang

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Trade and art have been interlinked since the beginnings of artistic creation. Throughout history, one of the core tensions in the world of creativity has been between the creation of artistic work and economics of survival. With the advent of the internet and social media, democratization in access to the arts has demolished many of the classic gatekeepers that have historically prevented artists from creating and sharing their work. However, artists, musicians, and writers still face significant barriers in obtaining and retaining capital to support their livelihoods, frequently turning to alternate professions to sustain their work.

When Is Style Substance?, Jordi Fernadez Servitje

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

While we are all aware of our ability to judge a book by its cover, our critical eye extends beyond the face of the book and to the font it is printed in as well. Strictly speaking, font refers to the size, weight, and style of a particular letter, while typeface refers to the overall style and design of the script. The term font comes from the days of physical printing; the font was the metal stamp used for each particular letter. Physical fonts have become antiquated by the advent of digital printing, but in common vernacular, font has remained …

The Together Lawsuit: What Will Matter After The Motion To Dismiss, Zeyu Liu

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied a motion to dismiss filed by Defendant William Morris Endeavor Entertainment (WME) in a copyright infringement claim brought forth by Plaintiff StudioFest, a production company. It is alleged that WME’s film Together infringed on the screenplay of the movie Better Half, whose copyright is owned by the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff only claimed a screenplay violation and alleged that in 2020, it sent the full script and synopsis to the agents of codefendants Dave Franco and Alison Brie as part of an offer to have them …

Vetter V. Resnik: An International Dilemma, Catherine Stagliano

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Typically, copyright lawyers around the nation look to the Second Circuit, presiding over New York City, and the Ninth Circuit, similarly moderating Los Angeles, for pivotal intellectual property legal decisions. On January 12, 2026, however, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released an opinion that has upended seemingly settled music publishing principles. Donald Passman’s textbook “All You Need to Know About the Music Business”, a source read by aspiring music industry professionals, describes termination rights as:

One of the best goodies that creators got in the 1976 Copyright Law is the right of termination. The termination provisions say …

Holding Isps Accountable? Secondary Liability And The Impact Of Cox V. Sony, Emma Steffes

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The Supreme Court is currently considering a case that could significantly affect current secondary liability principles under copyright law: Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment. The case poses a deceptively simple question: asking when an internet service provider should be legally responsible for the illegal actions of its users? The answer could reshape the relationship between copyright owners, internet companies, and all online users.

Your Face As Property: Ip Strategies Beyond Right Of Publicity, Nick Cipriani

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

During the Second Industrial Revolution, the source of goods became more important than ever as railroads expediated travel and access to goods across the United States. Today, the United States is in the midst of its third industrial revolution, a digital revolution fueled by silicon and microchips. This digital revolution is unlike the previous two industrial revolutions because biometrics have become commodities. The technologies and goods coming out of the digital revolution are multifaceted. First, they provide a physical good through appliances that allow for communication and shopping, among other things, across geographic borders. Second, they function as a service …

Iconic Voices And Ai: The Legal Battle Against Voice Cloning, Ezra Ashkenazi

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

In a recent interview with The Guardian, the legendary Hollywood actor, Morgan Freeman, expressed his distaste with AI’s use of his voice. Freeman went on to say, “I get paid for doing stuff like that, so if you’re gonna do it without me, you’re robbing me.” Freeman went further and said that his lawyers “[A]re already ‘very, very busy’ tackling unauthorized artificial intelligence uses of his voice.” While that is the last we have heard from Freeman and his legal team on the matter, this article will analyze the potential legal arguments one can bring to enjoin a company’s …

Did The Dodgers Ruin Baseball? Why Mlb’S Antitrust Exemption Stands In The Way Of A More Competitive League, Jack Ross

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

After the Los Angeles Dodgers’ series win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Championship Series, Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, remembered that, “[b]efore the season started, they said, ‘The Dodgers are ruining baseball … Let’s get four more wins and really ruin baseball. Let’s go!’” Because of this win, Roberts and the Dodgers made good on their promise by going on to win their second straight World Series. No, the Dodgers did not ruin baseball, but their dominance is representative of the growing disparity in competition between large and small-market teams.

Cardozo’S Sports Law Society And Antitrust Society Host House Settlement Lecture And Panel, Bradley Rosen

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Panelists for the event: Professor Marc Edelman, Bob Boland (Partner, Shumaker LLP), Michael Hsu (Co-founder, College Basketball Players Association), Adam Dale (Partner, Winston & Strawn LLP), Neha Vyas (Associate, Winston & Strawn LLP), Paul McDonald (Managing Partner, PL McDonald Law LLC), and Chris Brolley (Associate, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP).

On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Cardozo’s Sports Law Society and Antitrust Society hosted a lecture and panel discussion regarding the implications of the House v. NCAA lawsuit and settlement. This included the potential for future antitrust liability as a result of the settlement, Title IX implications, the employment status of college …

Is The Game Rigged? Why Sports Betting Is Becoming A Legal Time Bomb, Lawrence Kirzhner

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The International Olympic Committee defines “competition manipulation” as “when the result of a tournament or competition is partially or completely decided in advance and the match is played to ensure the pre-determined outcome.” Considering the Olympics hosts 43 sports, this definition can probably be applied to many, if not all, sports around the globe. While it is against the rules of sportsmanship as well as against the law, athletes “who bet on their sport might be tempted to fully or partially manipulate their competition in order to receive financial gain.” The sports world has experienced many scandals of manipulated competition …

The Life Of A Copyright, Annabel Haddock

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

On August 23rd, 2021, stand-up comedian Caroline Timoney posted a TikTok video where she stated, “I fear I may have girl bossed a little too close to the sun.” The video went viral and, to this day, it is her most viewed post on the platform, with upwards of seven and a half million views as of October 13, 2025, and over twenty-four thousand videos reposted using her audio. Taylor Swift’s twelfth and most recent album, The Life of a Showgirl, was released on October 3rd, 2025, and includes a song titled “CANCELLED!” featuring the lyric “Did you girlboss …

From Bets To Threats: The Impact Of Murphy On Student-Athletes, Rachel Bender

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The United States is experiencing a surge in the sports betting market following the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision to open the door for legalization. College sports, a beloved tradition for decades, has only become more popular with the rise of social media, which allows fans to interact with the athletes directly without ever leaving their homes. Due to this accessibility and popularity, it is easy to see why sports betting and collegiate sports would go hand in hand. With the legalization of sports betting, fans are no longer just viewers of the game; they are investors. Fans can place proposition …

Why It Is In The Ncaa’S Best Interests To Recognize College Athletes As Employees, Bradley Rosen

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The past decade has seen an onslaught of high-profile litigation against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The litigation has almost exclusively consisted of claims alleging that some of the NCAA’s policies constitute anticompetitive practices under U.S. antitrust laws. In National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, the Supreme Court ruled that, by limiting the education-related benefits schools were allowed to offer student athletes, the NCAA violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. However, the main takeaway from Alston was the concurrence by Justice Kavanaugh, which emphasized that while “the Court does not address the legality of the NCAA’s remaining compensation rules …

The Resurgence Of The Rap Act: Why Industry Professionals Enthusiastically Support This Bill, Ansley Henderson

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Artists release music and write songs to create art, not to offer any sort of criminal confession. Yet, dating back to a 1996 criminal trial involving Snoop Dogg, artists’ lyrics have been admissible as evidence in criminal and civil trials. Most recently, rapper Young Thug, was accused of being the head of a violent gang based solely on lyrics from his songs as evidence. His case sparked nationwide controversy regarding the constitutionality of his lyrics being admitted as key evidence at trial. The rapper’s popular music collective known as “Young Stoner Life,” was posited by prosecutors to actually be a …

Soundexchange V. Sirius Xm: A Battle On Two Fronts, Catherine Stagliano

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

In the United States, when an artist’s sound recording or track is played by a servicer like Pandora or satellite radio, a digital public performance royalty for the sound recording is collected by the organization, SoundExchange, or it may be negotiated between the parties via direct licenses. These non-terrestrial broadcast platforms perform in a non-interactive manner (i.e. the platform picks the tracks for the consumer to listen to) as opposed to in an interactive manner (i.e. listener picks the track) by a platform such as Spotify or Apple Music.

Music Executives From Universal Music Group Speak To Cardozo’S Entertainment Law Society, Ansley Henderson

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

On Thursday, August 21, 2025, Cardozo’s Entertainment Law Society hosted a panel discussion with Jermaine “Maine” Maxwell (A&R at Def Jam, Universal Music Group), Shaniqua “Haarlem” Branch (VP of A&R at Republic Records, Universal Music Group), Trevor Casson (Senior Director Business & Legal Affairs at Universal Music Group for the East Coast labels), and Rachel Landy (Cardozo Professor with over a decade of experience in the music industry). The panel was moderated by Brennan Gerspach (Entertainment Law Society Music Co-Chair, Class of 2027). The event was promoted to students as, “From Studio to Statute: Navigating Creativity, Innovation, and Law …

The Legal Vacuum In Cognitive Privacy And Brain Data, Kayla Flanders

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

There is an entire world emerging—technology capable of interpreting our brainwaves to predict which ads we’ll respond to, lift our moods, or queue the perfect playlist. U.S. patent filings in neurotechnology are soaring, mirroring the surge seen in gene-editing innovations.

Yet while gene-editing tools have sparked fierce public and ethical debate, neurotechnology companies are quietly amassing vast troves of brainwave data with far less scrutiny. What legal or ethical constraints are in place to govern the collection, use, or commercialization of this deeply personal data? Positioned at the intersection of data privacy, intellectual property, and scientific innovation, these questions demand …

“Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!” The Case For Resale Rights For Visual Artists In The United States, Alice Darakhchava

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Resale rights can be understood to be a form of royalty payments that compensate visual artists for subsequent sales after the initial sale of their artwork. In contrast to the schemes available to music artists in the United States, who receive payment for subsequent use of their works through licenses for public performance, synchronization licenses, or mechanical licenses, visual artists lack the ability to profit from the resale of their creations. This discrepancy separates the United States from the approaches to resale rights in many European countries and other countries that have adopted this system. Countries that recognize resale rights …

Us Supreme Court Reopens Door For Restitution Of Nazi Stolen Painting, David Seen

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The looting of works of art during World War II represents one of the most significant cultural thefts in history, with the Nazi state seeking to enrich itself by seizing property of the people it persecuted. The Nazis systematically seized thousands of invaluable works of art and cultural assets from museums, galleries, and private collections across Europe. The methods of seizure ranged from barefaced theft to indirect means such as forcing individuals to sell their property to finance their flights into exile. Due to the fact that many works of art were not looted directly but seized through indirect means, …

Cardozo Aelj’S Spring 2025 Symposium Delves Into The Implications Of Artificial Intelligence On Copyright Law And Publicity Rights, Cardozo Art & Entertainment Law Journal

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The Cardozo Arts and Entertainment Law Journal is pleased to present the 2025 Arts and Entertainment Law Journal Symposium: Fake It Till You Make It?: Striking the Right Balance Between Innovation, Publicity Rights, and Copyright. This event will bring together leading scholars and industry experts to explore the legal challenges posted by AI-generated voices, deepfake performances, and digital replicas.

The Legal Reckoning Of Reality Television: Contestant Rights And Producer Responsibilities, Tyler Caffrey

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Reality television has become a dominant force in modern entertainment. Behind the scenes, however, contestants face serious legal and ethical concerns. Many reality TV participants allege exploitative working conditions, misleading contracts, and inadequate compensation. Traditionally, networks classify contestants as independent contractors, exempting them from labor protections such as minimum wage and overtime pay.

Cerveza Cristal: A Copyright Loophole In A Beer Ad From 2003?, Sebastian Saavedra Irarrazaball

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

The internet stumbled onto a ready-made meme last month in the form of 20-year-old beer commercials from South America1. Back in 2003, a Chilean advertising agency decided to elevate the art of product placement. Their canvas: a planned broadcast of the original trilogy of Star Wars during a primetime slot on the second most popular national channel. DVDs were in their commercial infancy in the country, VHS tapes were available, but not everywhere. There was a guaranteed, captive audience.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on April 30, 2024. The original post …

Fanfiction Flicks: Dissecting The Expected Legal Ramifications Of Harry Styles Homages On The Big Screen, Aydan Urias

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

When the trailer for the highly anticipated Amazon Prime film The Idea of You debuted on YouTube in March 2024, viewers were captivated by the striking resemblance between the main character, Hayes Campbell, portrayed by Nicholas Galitzine, and the renowned former British One Direction member, Harry Styles. The film is based on the novel The Idea of You by author Robinne Lee. In a 2017 interview, Lee admitted to beginning the novel after seeing a YouTube video of the boy band One Direction and stated that she was specifically inspired by the personal life of Harry Styles.

This post was …

The Impact Of The “Misclassification” Of Employees As Independent Contractors On New York City’S Performing Arts Institutions And Gig-Based Performers, Katie Sigety

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) made it possible for independent contractors to access unemployment benefits, or “Pandemic Unemployment Assistance” (“PUA”), for the first time. This created a new awareness for how many gig-based performing artists were considered independent contractors. In the wake of the PUA program expiration in 2021, the DOL identified 425,000 fraudulent unemployment benefit claims filed, totaling $5.5 billion, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The fraudulent claims were filed using the real identities of individuals who were not employed, which were likely stolen during previous data breaches …

Tennessee Legislature Declares That The Human Voice Will Remain ‘The King’ In Nashville, Ryan Bickett

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Last month, Tennessee broke legal ground by passing the Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security, or “ELVIS,” Act. This law amends the state’s existing publicity laws to include protections for an individual’s voice in general as well as specifically against artificial intelligence (AI) impersonation. The statute defines a voice as “a sound in a medium that is readily identifiable and attributable to a particular individual, regardless of whether the sound contains the actual voice or a simulation of the voice of the individual.” This standard shows a statutory expansion of legal protections for voices that blossomed with major cases in …

Can You Smell A Lawsuit Cooking? Possible Risks With The Rock’S Trademarks, Cameron Brody

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Dwayne Johnson is one of the most recognizable and successful working actors on the planet. For an entire generation, he is synonymous with smash-hit franchises such as Baywatch, Tooth Fairy, and Jungle Cruise. In fact, between 2019 and 2021, he was the highest-paid actor in Hollywood and raked in $270,000,000 in 2022 alone. Further, he is a co-founder of Teremana Tequila, which holds an estimated value of $3.5 billion, putting him on track alongside George Clooney and Ryan Reynolds as success stories in the celebrity alcohol market. His most recent endeavor, however, may put him on track towards a series …

Shades Of Green: Navigating The Legality Of Environmental Marketing, David Zack

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

A majority of Americans are concerned about climate change.1 This fear seems to be a driver of consumer spending decisions. According to a study by PDI Technologies, 68% of Americans are willing to spend more on environmentally sustainable products than their competitors that are not sustainable.2 This number has steadily grown over the past two years.3 This figure is even greater for key marketing demographics. 77% of Gen Z, 72% of millennials, and 76% of parents would be willing to do so. Because of this, companies have increasingly sought to position and market themselves as green companies.

This post was …

Unmasking Deepfakes: Navigating The Copyright Quagmire, Ben Gross

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

In the ever-evolving landscape of digital technology, the emergence of deepfake technology has raised profound concerns, especially in the realm of copyright law. Deepfakes, sophisticated synthetic media created using artificial intelligence, can manipulate or replace existing content, often blurring the lines between reality and fiction.1 As these digital creations become more prevalent, questions surrounding their implications under copyright law have taken center stage.

This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on April 5, 2024. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above.

From Punchlines To Pesto To Prada: Exploring Intellectual Property’S Negative Space, Michael Ecker

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Intellectual property (“IP”) law serves as the protective cornerstone for the creative industries—an especially important one at a time when unprecedented global connectivity links so many and in the process, so greatly heightens the potential for improper takings. Yet, a growing body of legal scholarship delves into a fascinating counterpoint: the “negative space” of IP. As Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman posit in their Article, The Piracy Paradox, these creative endeavors “remain creative (and consequently do not require protection) precisely because they exhibit positionality sufficiently strong that it provokes a constant stream of new innovation.” This space encompasses creative fields …