Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law Commons^™

Reframing The Dei Case, Veronica Root Martinez

Seattle University Law Review

Corporate firms have long expressed their support for the idea that their organizations should become more demographically diverse while creating a culture that is inclusive of all members of the firm. These firms have traditionally, however, not been successful at improving demographic diversity and true inclusion within the upper echelons of their organizations. The status quo seemed unlikely to move, but expectations for corporate firms were upended after the #MeToo Movement of 2017 and 2018, which was followed by corporate support of the #BlackLivesMatter Movement in 2020. These two social movements, while distinct in many ways, forced firms to rethink …

Women In Shareholder Activism, Sarah C. Haan

Seattle University Law Review

Even a cursory review of the history of American environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) shareholder activism reveals the presence of women leaders. This Article sketches some of this history and interrogates the role of women in the shareholder activism movement. That movement typically has involved claims by minority shareholders to corporate power; activists are nearly always on the margins of power, though minority shareholders may, collectively, represent a majority interest. This Article ascribes women’s leadership in shareholder activism to their longstanding position as outsiders to corporate organization. Women’s participation in shaping corporate policy—even from the margins—has provided women with …

#Metoo And The Corporation In Popular Culture, Brenda Cossman

Seattle University Law Review

#MeToo’s initial virtual explosion in the fall of 2017 was very much about Hollywood, with famous actresses speaking out against famous producers, media moguls and celebrities, exposing the ubiquity of sexual harassment and sexual violence in and around the entertainment industry. Since then, #MeToo has made its way into Hollywood representations without much irony. Films and television shows have explicitly taken up the #MeToo themes, exploring issues of sexual harassment and violence and its afterlives. Many television shows, from the relaunched version of Murphy Brown to Brooklyn Nine-Nine to The Good Fight have incorporated #MeToo themes into episodes exploring the …

Woke Capital Revisited, Jennifer S. Fan

Seattle University Law Review

Inclusive corporate leadership is now at the forefront of discussions related to corporate governance. Two corporate theories help to explain the rise in prominence of diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”) efforts in corporate leadership. First, an expanded definition of corporate purpose which elevated the idea of the importance of stakeholders, contributed to the momentum from business and legal quarters for broader corporate inclusion. Second, the increasing publicness of corporations—the social expectation of how large, typically public corporations should act given their position of power—also led to corporations becoming more active in the DEI space. It is against this backdrop that …

Army Commander’S Role—The Judge, Jury, & Prosecutor For The Article 15, Anthony Godwin

Seattle University Law Review

Service members in the armed forces are bound by a different set of rules when compared to other U.S. citizens. Some of the normal safeguards and protections that civilians enjoy are much more restrictive for military service members, and this is generally for a good reason. Such restrictions are partly due to the complex demands and needs of the United States military. Congress and the President have entrusted military commanders with special powers that enable them to handle minor violations of law without needing to go through a full judicial proceeding. Non-judicial punishments (NJP), also known as Article 15s, are …

A Synthesis Of The Science And Law Relating To Eyewitness Misidentifications And Recommendations For How Police And Courts Can Reduce Wrongful Convictions Based On Them, Henry F. Fradella

Seattle University Law Review

The empirical literature on perception and memory consistently demonstrates the pitfalls of eyewitness identifications. Exoneration data lend external validity to these studies. With the goal of informing law enforcement officers, prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, judges, and judicial law clerks about what they can do to reduce wrongful convictions based on misidentifications, this Article presents a synthesis of the scientific knowledge relevant to how perception and memory affect the (un)reliability of eyewitness identifications. The Article situates that body of knowledge within the context of leading case law. The Article then summarizes the most current recommendations for how law enforcement personnel should—and …

Rolling The Dice On The Legality Of Gambling Devices: Why "Purpose" Has A Purpose, Stevie Holbrook

Cleveland State Law Review

Section 1955 of the United States Code (“Section 1955”), the federal law detailing prohibition on illegal gambling businesses, renders a defendant susceptible to prosecution if they are found to have violated the respective state’s gambling law and have a certain amount of people involved for a certain length of time. Today, the Sixth Circuit has identified Section 1955 as a general intent statute where it need not be shown that a defendant acted willfully in terms of intentionally violating state law. However, Ohio’s state gambling law has been interpreted as a specific intent statute that requires a purposeful act and, …

Increasing Competition In Live Music: The Case For Better Enforcement Of The Live Nation Entertainment Consent Decree, Tj Hunt

Cleveland State Law Review

In 2009, Live Nation and Ticketmaster Entertainment expressed their intent to merge to become Live Nation Entertainment. Before the merger, Ticketmaster Entertainment was the leading live music ticketing and marketing company. Live Nation was the leading producer of live music events. Live Nation also entered the primary ticket sales market and led merchandising at its entertainment venues. Antitrust concerns arose that this newly formed entity would be a near-monopoly in live music. Despite general antitrust concerns and lawsuits from consumers, smaller promoters, seventeen state attorneys general, and the Department of Justice (“DOJ"), Live Nation Entertainment agreed to a consent decree …

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. …

Fighting For The Right To Dance In Nyc’S Public Parks, Caithlin Peña

Capstones

Kanami Kusajima is an ink dancer and street performer who dances and creates art at Washington Square Park. She’s also been clashing with the Park Enforcement Patrol officers, who patrol the area. Her attempts to create a safer space for her fellow performers brings to light the complicated rules and regulations as well as the obstacles street performers face on the daily. Link to capstone project: https://medium.com/@caithlin.pena53/fighting-for-the-right-to-dance-in-nycs-public-parks-2cab922d1a1c

The Culture War Over Girls' Sports: Understanding The Argument For Transgender Girls' Inclusion, Kimberly A. Yuracko

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Death Of Amateurism In The Ncaa: How The Ncaa Can Survive The New Economic Reality Of College Sports, Claire Haws

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

In October 2019, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced it would be making a major change to its rules: student-athletes would soon be permitted to receive compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL). The announcement came in response to an increasing volume of state legislation allowing for student-athlete NIL compensation. On July 1, 2021, student-athletes finally had the opportunity to receive NIL benefits as the NCAA’s interim NIL policy went into effect. This change represents a nail in the coffin for traditional notions of amateurism.

For decades, the NCAA defended its rules from antitrust challenges …

Civil Rights Law—Preserving Female Athletics: Arkansas’S Fairness In Women’S Sports Act, Chandler Little Bray

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Pop & Perjury: The Irs Valuation War With The Estate Of Michael Jackson

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

When Michael Jackson died unexpectedly in Los Angeles, California, on June 25, 2009, his career and earnings were nearing an all-time low. Plagued by past sexual abuse allegations, scandals, and questionable health, Michael Jackson’s personal finances were purported to be in complete disarray. However, following his unexpected death, the value of his estate, which was reported to be near to nothing, swelled as the world remembered his beloved contributions to the world and began to purchase accordingly. Sales of Michael Jackson’s music began to soar high. The estate’s value soared even higher as it signed licensing agreements and released new …

Title Ix In Historical Context: 50 Years Of Progress And Political Gamesmanship, Helen A. Drew, Marissa Egloff, Josie Middione

Journal Articles

On the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX, it is important to recognize both its historic nature and how it has evolved in political and social context. This Article will begin by examining the history of women’s athletics pre–Title IX, focusing on what activities women participated in, why, and how societal norms shaped their ability to do so. Next, the Article will examine the status of women’s athletic opportunities as Title IX was first proposed, with an emphasis upon its nexus to the women’s rights movement and the Equal Rights Amendment initiative. The Article will then provide historical background for key …

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 …

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, …

Glorification Of Serial Killers: How The Law Fails To Protect Families Of The Victims, Ksenia Khlystova-Gowda

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Serial killers have always caused controversy. They have been talked about, feared, studied, and after their deaths, they have been remembered and memorialized in various forms of art. In pursuit of success and fame, movie and documentary directors attempt to promote their own narratives while depicting the gruesome and hideous murders and crimes of these killers. However, it appears that few consider the pain and suffering these “art forms” cause the families of serial killer victims. Almost every year, there are new media productions that put serial killers in the spotlight and depict their victims as sacrificial plot elements that …

How Ufc Fighters Are Being Punched In The Mouth Even After Stepping Out Of The Cage, William Schwartz

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

There is no questioning that the Ultimate Fighting Championship (“UFC”) is the premier mixed martial arts (“MMA”) promotion in the world. The UFC does pay their fighters more than other MMA promotions, but there are still plenty of people rightfully claiming that the UFC substantially underpays their fighters. In 2019, the UFC made over $900,000,000 in revenue and paid their fighters less than $150,000,000. That is sixteen percent of their revenue, which is significantly lower than what the National Football League (“NFL”), National Basketball Association (“NBA”), and Major League Baseball (“MLB”) pay their players. Those aforementioned leagues pay their players …

The Acceptance Of Nfts In The Art World, Alissa Donovan

Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal (AELJ) Blog

Since the first creation of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in 2014, some have tried to discredit this new technology as a scam undeserving of legitimate artistic consideration. The test of time has proven otherwise, as the use of NFTs has expanded to impact numerous industries. Although the collapse of NFT trading volumes in September of 2022 allowed critics an “I told you so” moment, NFTs seem to be continuously expanding in both use and legitimacy from their first conception. Significantly, art museums have also made a statement: NFTs are a legitimate art form and a lucrative move for the future of …