Entertainment Law, Media Law and Telecoms Law

A federal court has issued a nationwide injunction blocking the NCAA from enforcing its new five-year eligibility rule against Division I athletes who graduated high school in 2022. The ruling creates immediate compliance challenges for athletic departments as they navigate roster management, revenue-sharing caps, and potential penalties while the NCAA appeals the decision.

Sometimes, the purpose of a lawsuits isn’t financial recovery. Sometimes a plaintiff may file suit to spark public interest, to prompt institutional change, or simply to obtain an apology where none was given. Whatever the motivation, the overarching goal can eclipse personal interest entirely. In Dearica Hamby’s lawsuit against the WNBA and the Las Vegas Aces, her public statements made clear that the fight was always about something much bigger than herself.[

Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment, Nick Brown, discusses his transition from private practice to the business side of sports, sharing insights on overseeing operations for an ownership group with franchises spanning multiple professional leagues. The conversation explores the skills that shaped his career, the unique challenges of working in a multi-team sports organization, and the evolving legal and business landscape of professional sports.

Senate Bill (SB) 1130, legislation that would establish criminal penalties for certain uses of wearable recording devices, continues to move through the California legislature. I’ve had the honor of discussing this measure with staff of the bill’s sponsor, California State Senator Eloise Gómez Reyes, and anticipate there will be more efforts to enact laws seeking to impose measured responses to the privacy, security, and other challenges posed by the latest generation of AI-enabled wearables.

This comprehensive AI Reporter from Benesch's AI Commission examines the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence litigation, regulation, and business deployment. From intellectual property disputes involving major studios and AI music generators to state-level regulatory frameworks addressing data centers, employment practices, and consumer protection, the newsletter explores how courts, legislators, and policymakers are responding to AI's transformative impact.

A federal court examines whether AI meeting assistants like Otter.AI function as invited participants or third-party eavesdroppers under California privacy law. The ruling hinges on a critical distinction: does the AI tool merely transcribe conversations for participants, or does it retain and repurpose recorded content for its own commercial benefit, such as training machine learning models?

Taylor Swift faces a trademark dispute over her album title "The Life of a Showgirl" with performer Maren Flagg, who holds a 12-year registration for "Confessions of a Showgirl." The case centers on reverse confusion claims and whether Swift's global fame could overwhelm Flagg's earlier trademark rights, raising questions about brand dilution and the commercial impact of similar marks in the entertainment industry.

When Taylor Swift released her album 'The Life of a Showgirl,' she faced a trademark infringement lawsuit from Maren Flagg, who claimed the title violated her registered trademark CONFESSIONS OF A SHOWGIRL. The case explores the critical boundary between artistic expression and commercial trademark use, particularly when musical artists transform album releases into merchandise-driven business ventures.

The State of Colorado has taken a notable step in reshaping how creative businesses can be structured and financed with the introduction of the Colorado Artist Company Act (SB26 133).

When a legal research startup trained its AI on lawyer memos derived from Westlaw's editorial summaries, it sparked a landmark copyright case that exposes how artificial intelligence extracts not just content, but the accumulated judgment and authority publishers spent decades building. As Google referral traffic plummets and AI-generated content farms proliferate, the question shifts from "was a copy made?" to "was the expert ever hired?"

The Federal Trade Commission has found new ways to impose substantial monetary penalties on companies despite a 2021 Supreme Court ruling that eliminated its primary enforcement tool. Two recent settlements totaling over $5 million demonstrate how the agency is leveraging alternative provisions of the FTC Act to pursue civil penalties for consumer protection violations, particularly those involving deceptive marketing practices and fake reviews.

The FTC settled charges against Publishing.com LLC for $1.5 million over allegations that the company misled consumers about potential earnings from its self-publishing programs. The case addresses three critical advertising law issues: unsubstantiated earnings claims, deceptive refund guarantees with hidden conditions, and undisclosed material connections in consumer testimonials and reviews.