Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Eating What They Kill: The Stark Reality Of Athlete Compensation In Mixed Martial Arts And Potential Solutions, Christopher Piel

Arkansas Law Review

“They eat what they kill.” Dana White, President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) said this about the state of fighter pay in the organization. White, the voice of the company, holds firm that fighters are adequately compensated for their services. The reality is that UFC fighters are not paid what they deserve, and, one way or another, there are big changes coming to the organization and the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (“MMA”) as a whole. In this Comment, I will discuss how the UFC has used its market power to suppress fighters’ wages and subject fighters to inequitable …

Olympic Dreams Dashed: Arbitrating Seconds, Grams, Identity, And Time At The Paris Olympic Games 2024, Maureen A. Weston

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Real Concerns For An Artificial Threat: Artists, Ai, And The Battle To Script Hollywood’S Future, Evan Sommer

Nevada Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Illusion Of Inclusion: The False Promise Of The New Governance Project For Content Moderation, Brenda Dvoskin

Fordham Law Review

Because private companies now control the most prominent communication platforms, the most pressing question in the field of content moderation is how to ensure that the governance of public discourse responds to public values. The prevailing approach, given that the state cannot regulate speech directly, is that state regulation can be substituted with audited self-regulation, broad stakeholder participation, and negotiated rulemaking. In this model, which this Article refers to as the “new governance model for content moderation,” companies include advocates as representatives of the public in their processes to govern online speech. Ideally, they negotiate policy goals and share responsibility …

Reimagining The Music Industry: In Search Of A More Perfect Union, Loren E. Mulraine Professor Of Law

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Article challenges the long-standing accepted business model of the music industry, including recording contract terms, ownership of masters, artist recoupment, and copyright terminations. It explores the negative implications of failing to revise these methods and neglecting to create a more equitable relationship between artists and recording companies. Indeed, the music industry is an outlier from almost every commercial industry in its financing structure. As such, this Article suggests that the future industry model should include equity ownership of master recordings. It then reviews the need to revise contract terms and eliminate the unilateral options and the unduly burdensome clauses …

Pregnancy & Elite Athletes: Hamby Alleges Discrimination In Suit Against The Wnba And Las Vegas Aces, Erica J. Zonder, Emily J. Houghton

Human Performance Department Publications

In August of 2024, Dearica Hamby sued the WNBA and Las Vegas Aces alleging Pregnancy Discrimination under both Title VII and Nevada state law. While this case might be novel for a WNBA player, issues surrounding pregnancy and elite women's sport are not. High profile cases such as Brady v. Sacred Heart in 2003, Castergine v. New York Mets in 2015, and even Allyson Felix’s contract dispute with Nike starting in 2017 (after Kara Goucher’s previous pregnancy-related contract issues) all have highlighted a need for sensible, and non-punishing, pregnancy-related policies for female athletes. The purpose of this presentation is to …

A Conversation With Julia Haart, Cardozo Fame Center, Fashion Law Society, Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin, Julia Haart

2025 Event Invitations

Step into the world of innovation and entrepreneurship with Cardozo's FAME Center and the Fashion Law Society as they host an exclusive event featuring Julia Haart—CEO, designer, author, activist, producer, and the captivating star of Netflix's “My Unorthodox Life.” Join her in a riveting dialogue with Professor Michelle Greenberg-Kobrin, as they delve into Julia's non-traditional journey to the C-suite and her trailblazing approach to business.

World Wide Whac-A-Mole: The Inadequacies Of The Dmca To Protect Copyright Holders Online And Why Artificial Intelligence Is The Solution, Nathania Davis-Fox

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

Congress created the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) at the dawn of the internet age 25 years ago. It addressed the needs and concerns of Online Service Providers (OSPs) in the nascent cyber landscape, but the DMCA must now be reformed to meet the needs of Web 2.0. The DMCA’s refusal to condition §512(c) safe harbor protection on OSPs’ platform monitoring is no longer practical. This now produces results contrary to the Copyright Act’s purpose of encouraging the creation and dissemination of new works. Copyright owners are fighting a losing battle against infringing OSP users and the DMCA’s notice-and-takedown procedures …

Conduits For Crime: How The Us Art Industry Has Become A Market Ripe For Financial Crime, Sage Espindola

Brooklyn Law Review

The US art market is the largest in the world, with an estimated total worth of $67.8 billion. In the last decade, art market transactions have skyrocketed in value, with works like Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi selling at auction for $450 million, making it the most expensive individual work to ever be sold. However, unlike other markets that handle similarly high-value assets and commodities, the US art market is largely unregulated. The lack of adequate formal regulation, coupled with a culture of anonymity, has allowed for the US art market to become a hotbed for financial crime, such as …

How Tom Brady Saved Baseball: A New Understanding Of Union Decertification In Professional Sports Lockouts, Alec Whipple

William & Mary Business Law Review

Labor negotiations in professional sports have always been held at the crossroads of labor law and antitrust law. Players are bound by collective bargaining agreements that are governed by labor law but must negotiate these agreements with multi-owner collectives that typically engage in anti-competitive conduct: namely, locking out players during labor disputes. Furthermore, the non-statutory labor exemption has prevented players from using antitrust remedies to combat these employer actions. Players’ unions have fought back against owners in recent years by pursuing the unorthodox counter-strategy of formally decertifying as a union in order to file antitrust litigation. However, the 2011 ruling …

Leveling The Playing Field: Aligning Title Ix And Title Vii Sexual Harassment Standards To Ensure Equity For Female Hazing Victims, Cammie Swain

Cardozo Law Review

As hazing has become more common among student-athletes at colleges and universities throughout the country, litigants have used Title IX as a legal remedy to hold these educational institutions accountable for hazing practices on their campuses. However, while various male plaintiffs have brought successful Title IX cases alleging that their hazing experiences constitute actionable discrimination under Title IX, fewer women have had success in bringing such cases. This disparity looms especially large as the number of hazing incidents among women has grown and as intercollegiate athletics has transformed into a massive, lucrative industry. Since 2021, student-athletes have been able to …

Thinking Outside The Box: A Creative Legal Conversation, Cardozo Fame Center, Hollywood Radio & Television Society, Cathy Perifimos, Barbara Pereda, Merrick Stone, Laura Luckenbaugh, Javier Royal

2025 Event Invitations

Join Cardozo's FAME Center as we host a mixer for FAME students and alumni, and members of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society. The event will feature a moderated panel discussion led by Entertainment Attorney and Cardozo alumna Cathy Perifimos '09, focusing on the intersection of legal and creative aspects within the television industry. A reception will follow.

Beyond The Sidelines: Recognizing A Coach’S Role In Sports Under New York’S Primary Assumption Of Risk Doctrine, Christopher J. Colbert

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

This Note explores the New York Court of Appeals’s development of its primary assumption of risk doctrine. Ultimately, this Note argues that the New York Court of Appeals should adopt the Supreme Court of California’s recognition that the role of a coach is different than the relationship between coparticipants. Part I provides an overview of the origins of tort law in the sports context by examining New York and California’s common law assumption of risk doctrines. Part II analyzes how the New York Court of Appeals developed its primary assumption of risk doctrine differently than the Supreme Court of …

The Constitutional Problems With Delegating Legislative Power To College Sports, Sam C. Ehrlich

St. John's Law Review

(Excerpt)

Part I of this Article discusses the current landscape of college sports, discussing why the NCAA has sought federal litigation to better control the industry and what legislative efforts are underway to potentially grant those wishes. Part II then reviews case law that defines the contours of the private non-delegation doctrine, focusing on the Amtrak litigation and National HBPA and how those two strings of cases place NCAA-related legislative efforts in constitutional peril. Part III will then closely review the currently proposed legislation that would, if passed, grant regulatory power to the NCAA or a new private entity, …

Entertainers Vs Ai: A Comparative Analysis Of The Unionized And Non-Unionized Entertainers' Approaches To Ai, Nicole Askar

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

While the implementation of artificial intelligence (“AI”) could revolutionize the efficiency of the workforce, workers remain hesitant to embrace AI as it could minimize their role in the economy. During the summer of 2023, the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”) and the Screen Actors Guild (“SAG-AFTRA”) striked against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (“AMPTP”), citing disagreements about AI policies as a primary concern. Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA enacted policies that emphasize the need for consent. The Recording Academy and streaming services diligently monitored the influx of AI into the music industry. While unionized groups took hardline …

Game On: Navigating The Trademark Arena - Risks, Registrations, And Statutory Interpretations, Angelika Avagian

Loyola of Los Angeles Entertainment Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Paradoxical Solution To Enforce Resale Royalties And Keep The Nft Market Decentralized, Katelyn Holcomb

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This article examines the role of resale royalties in maintaining decentralization in the NFT ecosystem and supporting financial sustainability for artists. Although resale royalties, also known as creator royalties, are widely valued by NFT artists, they have been frequently undermined by the centralized policies of large NFT marketplaces. These include zero-royalty policies that are driven by the competitive pressure to gain market share, where platforms allow buyers and sellers to bypass creator royalties. This behavior has led to a destructive race to the bottom and the overall erosion of resale royalties. To address this problem in the NFT market, this …

The Compact Clause And Cyberwar, Josie Laing

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

This article seeks to bring attention to the potential modern utility of Article 1, Section 10, Clause 3: the Compact Clause. This section of the Constitution has historically been archived. However, given cyberspace’s ever-growing prominence, the Compact Clause should be reconsidered as cyber warfare presents a novel opportunity for states to exercise their sovereign rights.

Section 10 restricts states’ powers to engage with foreign entities. Without the consent of Congress, states cannot enter into agreements with foreign powers or engage in war. These restrictions on states were necessary when the Constitution was drafted. To navigate foreign affairs nimbly, the United …

Carano V. Disney: The First Amendment Right Of Expressive Association As A Defense To Firing Employees For Their Political Speech, Joel Timmer

Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts

Following a series of controversial social media posts by actress Gina Carano, a cast member of the Disney+ Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, Disney terminated her employment on the show and announced that Carano would not appear in any future Star Wars projects. According to Disney, Carano was terminated because the views expressed in her posts did not align with the company’s values. Carano filed suit against Disney, claiming Disney violated California state labor laws that generally prohibit employers from sanctioning employees for their political activities. In response, Disney claims that the First Amendment right of expressive association provides …

The Great War (Taylor's Version): Examining The New Era Of Recording Artists & Master Recording Ownership, Victoria B. Villanueva

Journal of Legislation

In 2019, Taylor Swift took to social media to voice her unease with the recent sale of her entire master recording catalogue to Ithaca Holdings, a sale that allegedly occurred without her explicit permission. Following a series of negotiations, holdouts, and ultimate deadlock, Swift made the critical and costly decision to re-record and re-release each of those six albums under her sole ownership in an effort to reclaim them as her own work—re-recordings publicly denoted by “Taylor’s Version”. This highly-publicized feud brought to the public’s attention a decades-long conflict between the recording artist and the recording company, one that has …