Trademarks, Music

K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - October 2024 #2

Kaufman & Canoles on 10/8/2024

Surinamese sprinter Issamade Asinga sued the Gatorade Company on Wednesday, alleging his recent doping ban was the result of eating contaminated “recovery gummies” that the brand manufactured and provided....more

K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - September 2024 #2

Kaufman & Canoles on 9/17/2024

A woman in Texas filed a new lawsuit last Monday accusing Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson of sexual assault and battery in 2020....more

K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup - September 2024

Kaufman & Canoles on 9/11/2024

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that Illinois has joined an $82.5 million proposed antitrust settlement with Varsity Brands (Varsity). As a result, Illinois consumers who paid to participate in Varsity Brands’...more

The Pitch - April 2024

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP on 5/6/2024

The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more

The Pitch - March 2024

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP on 3/29/2024

The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more

Behind the Stage: The TTAB's “Non-Performing Band Member” Ruling on Disputed Ownership of SPLIT DECISION Trademark

ArentFox Schiff on 3/11/2024

The world of music often sees as much drama in the courtroom as on the stage. One fight that frequently results in protracted, expensive, and bitter legal disputes is over ownership of a band or group name....more

MarkIt to Market® - February 2024

Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox P.L.L.C. on 3/1/2024

Thank you for reading the February 2024 issue of Sterne Kessler's MarkIt to Market® newsletter. This month, we discuss the advertising rights of luxury resellers and important updates to the Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy...more

Wavy Baby’s Shoes Not Entitled to Special First Amendment Protections

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 2/8/2024

40 years ago, I was the new kid in 6th grade – truly a terrible age in a young girl’s life to try and “fit in” at a new elementary school in a small town. But, one of my best memories from that year was procuring my first...more

The Pitch - September 2023

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP on 9/29/2023

The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more

The Pitch - April 2023

Arnall Golden Gregory LLP on 4/20/2023

The Pitch newsletter is a monthly update of legal issues and news affecting or related to the music, film and television, fine arts, media, professional athletics, eSports, and gaming industries. The Pitch features a diverse...more

100% Lizzo – Talking about Phrases and Trademarks

Barnea Jaffa Lande & Co. on 4/3/2023

In 2017, the popular singer Lizzo released the song “Truth Hurts,” which became a hit uniquely associated with her. In one of the song’s lines, Lizzo sings, “I just took a DNA test. Turns out, I’m 100% that b*tch.” Lizzo...more

Journey’s Trademark Squabble - Who’s Crying Now?

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 2/21/2023

When Journey was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, Steve Perry was ranked 76th on Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers of All Time.” Arguably, many Journey fans view the front man and his voice as the...more

Don't Forget IP Rights When Planning an Estate

Holland & Knight LLP on 1/19/2023

As highlighted by a recent Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (TTAB) decision, Clementvision, Inc. v. Robert Clement, expressly including intellectual property rights in an estate plan can prevent complicated issues from arising....more

Eleventh Circuit: First Amendment Means MTV Floribama Shore Does Not Infringe FLORA-BAMA Trademark

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 12/29/2022

In MGFB Properties, Inc. v. Viacom Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently sided with Viacom and its subsidiary MTV in a trademark action brought by the owners of the Flora-Bama Lounge, who alleged...more

AD-ttorneys@law - December 2022

BakerHostetler on 12/12/2022

TTAB Emancipates “Queen of Christmas” from Mimi - Mariah Carey lets mark registration go unchallenged - Breakdown - Mariah Carey takes a lot of guff for...strange behavior. We won’t review the stories here; poring...more

Just Because It’s On the Internet Doesn’t Mean It’s In the Public Domain

Whitman Legal Solutions, LLC on 8/8/2022

Just Because it’s Published Doesn’t Mean it’s in the Public Domain - Some people think that if something is on the Internet, it’s in the public domain and is fair game to be copied. Not true! Giving the public access to an...more

Electronic Gaming Podcast | Copyright and Trademark - Aaron Hendelman and Gary Greenstein

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 7/14/2022

Join Wilson Sonsini Partners Aaron Hendelman and Gary Greenstein as they dig into how copyrights and trademarks can implicate games and gaming companies. With conversation on topics such as: whether you could put Starbucks in...more

Nonfungible Tokens and the Music Industry: Legal Considerations

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on 3/30/2021

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) have, in recent weeks, gone from a relatively obscure form of digital collectible stored on a blockchain to a virtual “gold rush” for artists, labels and other music rights owners looking for ways to...more

“Running Man” Case Trips, Falls, and Is Dismissed

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 6/16/2020

Just two months ago, we published a post about an Eastern District of Pennsylvania decision in the Pellegrino v. Epic Games case regarding Epic’s online battle royale video game, Fortnite. In that case, saxophonist Leo...more

Epic Dance Moves Win Legal Dance-Off (Mostly)

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 4/13/2020

In a recent decision, Judge John R. Padova of the federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed seven out of eight of the claims brought by musician Leo Pellegrino alleging that Epic Games unlawfully copied...more

The Joint is Just a Music Joint, Not a Trademark

Akerman LLP - Marks, Works & Secrets on 3/11/2020

The Federal Circuit in In re JC Hospitality LLC recently affirmed the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s refusal to register the service mark THE JOINT for a venue offering...more

Epic Games Battles for Victory Dances in Fortnite Copyright Lawsuits

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on 2/28/2019

If you know how to Floss and Milly Rock, then you are way more hip than most, including the author of this post. Both are popular dance moves, along with the Shoot, Running Man, and the Carlton, the latter made famous by...more

Are You a Pirate or a Promoter?

Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley on 11/28/2018

Copyright and Trademark Protection for a Reason - Protecting Creative Speech in Practice - Let’s talk intellectual property. Not patents and trade secrets, not that “hard stuff.” I’m talking creative intellectual property....more

Music Law 101: What Every Band Needs to Know

Brooks Pierce on 9/4/2018

Last week, Brooks Pierce participated in CD Baby’s DIY Musician Conference in Nashville. We hosted legal clinics, served as mentors, gave out free copies of our Musician’s Legal Handbook, and presented a legal workshop on...more

Former Band Member Must Sail On Down the Line

McDermott Will & Emery on 3/12/2018

The US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit upheld a permanent injunction precluding a musician from using the trademarks of his former band. Commodores Entertainment Corp. v. Thomas McClary, Case No. 16-15794 (11th Cir.,...more

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