From The Legal Field

Cuba, A Field of Dreams

Last December, President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced their plans to restore full diplomatic ties between their respective countries. While such an announcement for many opens up a new vacation spot, baseball enthusiasts view it as a rich untapped source of talented players. The United States severed its ties with Cuba in 1961….

Analysis of Run Gum v. United States Olympic Committee & USA Track and Field

Last month, the Untied States Olympic Committee (“USOC”) and USA Track & Field (“USATF”) were sued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon by Run Gum, a company co-owned by Olympic runner Nick Simmonds, alleging that restrictions on the type of advertisements athletes can wear on their jersey violate antitrust laws. Run…

Gronk’s Shenanigans Leading To “Cruise-Gate”?

Rob Gronkowski (Gronk) of the New England Patriots has once again drawn attention from the national media, but this time, not in a positive way. Recently, Gronk hosted a “booze cruise” trip from Miami to the Bahamas, which took place from February 19th-22nd. The four-day party took was located on a Norwegian Cruise Line, which gave…

Death by Pellet Gun

The sad, tragic, and questionable death of Salma Hayek’s beloved dog has ended without charges filed against the shooter. Last week, on February 19th, Hayek’s nine-year-old dog, Mozart, was found dead at her Washington state ranch. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office investigated the death of Mozart after he was discovered shot to death on Hayek’s…

Pierre-Paul’s Case Against ESPN and Adam Schefter

Last summer New York Giants Jason Pierre-Paul blew up part of his right hand in a fireworks accident. He was admitted to Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital to have procedures done to save his hand, wherein the media rushed to find out more information, which is when Adam Schefter tweeted out two images of Pierre-Paul’s medical…

NFL Greed Hurting Players

Recently, it has been discovered by the NFLPA (NFL Players Association) that the NFL has withheld nearly $120 million in ticket revenue from a “shared pool”. This “pool” withheld salary from NFL players in the amount of around $50 million. The NFL has a collective bargaining agreement with the NFLPA, which determines how money is shared…

“Suit and Tie”…For the Wrong Reasons

Justin Timberlake has had a plethora of success over the last few years. Timberlake has starred in movies, hosted SNL, and has even made us laugh alongside Jimmy Fallon. In lieu of all his successes, his most successful “entertainment venture” arguably came by the release of his latest album “The 20/20 Experience” back in 2013….

Apple “Thinks Different”

On Tuesday, a federal magistrate-judge ruled that Apple must help the FBI break into the phone of one of the San Bernardino shooters. The FBI was unable to figure out the shooter’s passcode, which is the only way to get inside his iPhone. Since the phone is encrypted, if the FBI were to guess…

Will NOTSPORTSCENTER Receive Trademark Protection?

Last week, Notsportscenter, LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company, filed a federal trademark application for the term NOTSPORTSCENTER. Will this receive trademark protection? First, the mark must be inherently distinctive, or have secondary meaning. We are going to assume that NOTSPORTSCENTER is not inherently distinctive, but instead, it is descriptive. It is merely the combination…

Caddies Lose Lawsuit v. PGA Tour

Caddies who work for the PGA Tour filed suit a year ago, in Federal court in California, for being forced to wear corporate logos on bibs and becoming ‘human billboards’. The lawsuit also stated that the PGA threatened to prevent the caddies from working if they did not wear the bibs. The Court dismissed the…