Queen's Sports and Entertainment Law Society

03/17/2017

SAVE THE DATE! SELS will be hosting a music law panel on April 7 from 11:30am to 1 pm featuring John Abrams from The Abrams (http://www.theabramsmusic.com/), Susan Abramovitch, Head of Entertainment at Gowling LLP and President of Warner Music Canada, Steve Kane. We’ll be sending out more details next week, so stay tuned!

01/30/2017

"Media companies and their reporters are now on notice that disclosure of visualized depictions of medical information could give rise to viable claims for invasion of privacy. This does not mean that journalists can’t report on a player’s injury. Had Schefter only reported on Pierre-Paul’s injury and not tweeted out an image of his medical chart, Pierre-Paul’s case would have almost certainly failed."

http://www.si.com/nfl/2016/08/25/jason-pierre-paul-hand-photo-suing-espn-adam-schefter

On Thursday, a judge denied ESPN and Adam Schefter’s motion to dismiss New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul’s invasion of privacy lawsuit.

01/19/2017

Former players who experienced concussions and other health issues during and after playing are suing the NHL for their alleged failure to protect them and reduce violence in the game.

Newly disclosed court documents relate to lawsuit filed in U.S. federal court by former players suing the league over handling of concussions.

01/16/2017

The Super Bowl is coming up and the CRTC has made sure that even us Canadians can see the wonderfully over-the-top, high-budget advertisements during the game. Banning replacement advertisements in Canada, however, is a contentious issue both legally and economically for broadcasters and the NFL. A look back on the start of a legal and political battle over Super Bowl ads in Canada:

CRTC ruled in 2015 that substitution of Canadian ads over American ones during Super Bowl would be barred

01/12/2017

"Does Wake Forest University have a legal case against former assistant coach Tommy Elrod and the schools with whom Elrod, while acting as the Demon Deacons’ radio broadcaster, allegedly shared game plans?"

Could Tommy Elrod, the former Wake Forest radio analyst who allegedly leaked Demon Deacons game plan information to opponents, face a lawsuit or crimi

01/09/2017

"Some of the songwriters interviewed for story ... feared that “Blurred Lines” and the current lawsuits against Ed Sheeran would discourage songwriters from writing songs. Songwriting is already a pretty marginal (financially) activity to begin with, and it may not take much discouragement to drive many of them from the field—to everyone’s detriment."

http://ipbreakdown.com/blog/has-there-really-been-fallout-from-the-blurred-lines-case-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/

Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due (or Demanded) Last week, the Associated Press reported, “More and more, artists are giving credit” to the writers of pre

01/05/2017

Some of the leading stories in sports law as we step into the new year!

This week in Sports Law includes stories on a new political action committee (PAC) created by a large group of athletic directors, Russia possibly admitting to a big doping scandal, an update on a daily fantasy sports case pending in Minnesota and more.

12/09/2016

Trademarks have been a problem for the newest NHL team since the start. Learn more about how the law is impacting the NHL as it establishes a team in Vegas:

The National Hockey League says it won't change the name or logo of its newest club, despite being denied a trademark by U.S. authorities.

11/30/2016

CBA negotiations continue for the MLB and MLBPA, with many factors impacting how either side is approaching the deal. Before we see what shape the CBA ends up taking, here's a primer on what to keep an eye on and what might happen by the deadline.

The key issues at play in the battle for a new collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball's owners and the players' union.

11/25/2016

This piece, written by a sports lawyer and law professor, analyses what might come from a new NBA collective bargaining agreement. Among the points is the return of basketball to Seattle (!!!) and raising the age requirement for draft eligibility!

The NBA's next collective-bargaining agreement will have a profound effect on the league going forward. Here are some of the key terms to watch for in

11/23/2016

Interested in how copyright laws can impact the bottom line of your favourite artists? In the United States alone, the US Copyright Act is costing composers $150M+ and affecting how we listen to music.

The part of the U.S. Copyright Act that exempts some small restaurants and bars from paying public performance fees to collecting societies could be costing rightsholders more than $150 million a year, according to a study by the consultancy PMP Conseil.

11/17/2016

As the face of the music industry shifts towards online streaming and artist-driven marketing, having agreements with brands like Apple and Spotify are important for artists and record labels in getting their music in front of fans. The negotiations between Spotify - which has expressed interest in becoming something of a new-age record label itself - and record labels are contentious and illustrate how much influence the market has on entertainment law.

Spotify Ltd., under pressure to file for an initial public offering, is showing renewed urgency in a fresh round of meetings with record labels to nail down long-term licensing deals, according to people familiar with the discussions.