K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup (April 22, 2025)

Sports:

GOLF

• Jack Nicklaus just scored a $1 million win in a New York court, striking back against his former company’s attempt to control his personal brand. Jack Nicklaus secures $1M victory in legal battle over NIL rights – GOLFNIL

NBA

• The Phoenix Suns NBA franchise is once again facing legal action, this time over allegations of harassment, discrimination, and a toxic workplace environment. A Hispanic woman has filed a lawsuit against the Suns in Arizona federal court, making it the third lawsuit in five months by former employees accusing the organization of toxic workplace behavior. Suns Hit with New Lawsuit Over Harassment, Toxic Workplace – USA Herald

NCAA

• As a part of an ongoing lawsuit against former University of Michigan football coach Matthew Weiss, Loyola received a notice April 8 with instructions to preserve all personal information of student-athletes from 2015 to 2020. Loyola Sent Litigation Hold Notice Related to Ex-UMich Coach Privacy Suit – The Loyola Phoenix
• A New Jersey federal judge grilled the NCAA Wednesday about how it would be harmed if he granted a Rutgers football player’s request to block the NCAA’s five-year rule as it applies to him while he pursues an antitrust claim, pointing out the lack of clarity around the rule since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down restrictions on education benefits for athletes. NJ Judge Unsure Injunction For Athlete Would Harm NCAA – Law360

MLB

• Major League Baseball players called foul on DraftKings Inc.’s bid for the Third Circuit to decide whether the players’ claims that the betting app used photos of them in ads without permission can proceed, arguing that a lower court got it right when it refused to dismiss their claims. MLB Players Aim To Strike Out DraftKings NIL Case Appeal – Law360

NFL

• Texas rapper Bigg Tyme and his company dropped the Houston Texans from a copyright infringement lawsuit that alleges the NFL team and fellow rapper Mike Jones stole Bigg Tyme’s 2002 song “Still Tippin” to use at games without his permission. Rapper Drops Houston Texans From ‘Still Tippin’ Lawsuit – Law360

Entertainment:

MUSIC

• The 9^th Circuit refused to reinstate a former Beach Boys guitarist’s suit that sought to revoke his royalty agreements with Universal Music Group since they were based on physical record sales and didn’t contemplate the evolution of digital streaming, ruling Wednesday the contracts only paid for physical record sale royalties. Attempt by Ex-Beach Boy to Rescind 1962 Deal Precluding Recovery of Digital Royalties Fails
• British music royalties firm Hipgnosis can forge ahead with its unpaid royalties case against singer Barry Manilow in the U.K., after an appellate panel overturned a pause imposed because of parallel proceedings in L.A.
• The artist formerly known as Kanye West denied derailing discovery in a lawsuit alleging he stole music from DJ Khalil and three other artists for two tracks on his blockbuster Donda album, telling a CA federal judge that the $50,000 sanctions bid is just a “profit-driven fishing expedition.” Ye Says DJ Khalil Is Fishing For Profits In ‘Donda’ IP Lawsuit – Law360
• A trio of performance rights organizations, now under federal scrutiny, blamed each other for industry fragmentation and inefficient royalty distribution in responses to a US Copyright Office inquiry. Music Rights Groups Turn On Each Other Amid Federal Inquiry

SOCIAL MEDIA & BOOKS

• The U.S. Copyright Office is lending its opinion in a dispute over who has the rights to authorize stage adaptions of Harper Lee‘s iconic book To Kill A Mockingbird, saying in an amicus brief to the 7^th Circuit that the company that once had the rights for the play cannot prevent others from creating new adaptions after the late author terminated those rights. dramatic-publishing-co-v-estate-of-nelle-harper-lee-23-1309-7th-cir-2025.pdf
• Content creators Alyssa Sheil and Sydney Nicole Gifford, who are embroiled in a copyright lawsuit over a “neutral, beige, and cream aesthetic,” failed to resolve the case after mediation earlier this month. Influencers Fail to Settle Vibe-Theft Copyright Lawsuit