K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup (August 25, 2023)

Sports:

• A federal court judge in California refused to modify a protective order governing the since-settled antitrust suit between golf giants LIV Golf and the PGA Tour to enable LIV to hand confidential material over in a separate lawsuit in Florida state court, finding that the Saudi Arabia-based golf tour did not “attempt to show why” it would need to hand over the documents in the Florida action – LIV Can’t Modify PGA Protective Order For Docs Demand – Law360
• One construction company and several property development companies have filed a motion to dismiss a city’s counterclaims in a multimillion-dollar dispute surrounding a downtown Hartford, Connecticut, stadium project that became the home of the Hartford Yard Goats, a minor league baseball affiliate of the Colorado Rockies – Developers Want Counterclaims Tossed In Conn. Stadium Row – Law360
• The governing body of North Carolina’s public university system has told the state’s highest court to reject a former college football coach’s petition seeking to undo his firing, saying the case doesn’t involve issues of public interest and his termination was otherwise justified – College Football Coach’s Firing Was Proper, NC Justices Told – Law360
• The National Football League (NFL), the New York Giants, the Denver Broncos, and the Houston Texans have filed an appeal in former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ race bias suit, asking the Second Circuit to reverse a decision not to compel arbitration of Flores’ claims – NFL And 3 Teams File Appeal In Coach’s Race Bias Suit – Law360
• JPMorgan Chase & Co. is accused of helping Sinclair Broadcast Group illegally gut Sinclair’s own Bally Sports regional sports networks unit, siphoning off $929 million from the affiliate and charging $245 million in fees while knowing the affiliate was likely insolvent – Bally Sports Says JPMorgan Took $1B, Pushing It To Ch. 11 – Law360
• The NCAA has pushed back against a college basketball player who asked to insert herself into a racial discrimination suit in an Indiana federal court, calling the request “inappropriate and impermissible” because she would be pursuing identical claims against the athletic organization in two simultaneous cases – NCAA Says Student-Athlete Can’t Intervene On Race Bias Suit – Law360
• According to a lawsuit filed in New York federal court, the NBA’s Toronto Raptors used a newly hired video assistant to serve as a “mole” to transfer proprietary scouting information to them from his former employer, the New York Knicks – Knicks Say New Raptors Coach Enticed ‘Mole’ To Steal Info – Law360

Entertainment:

• A Washington, D.C., federal court’s decision that artwork generated by artificial intelligence can’t receive the same copyright protections afforded to human-created art was the first ruling of its kind—but also a narrow one that wasn’t a surprise to many attorneys – Artificial Intelligence Lawsuit: AI-Generated Art Not Copyrightable – The Hollywood Reporter
• Videogame maker Electronic Arts Inc. told a California federal court that an amended complaint from brand management agency The Brandr Group attempted to clarify what is covered in its college licensing agreements still fails to show it has exclusive rights that would prevent EA from using the name, image and likeness (NIL) of the student-athletes in an upcoming NCAA Football video game – EA Blasts Agency’s Amended NIL Complaint – Law360
• Authors suspect generative AI (GAI) is behind a wave of fake titles being listed under their names on booksellers like Amazon and Goodreads, and they’re turning to new approaches to intellectual property to combat the fraudsters – Fake Books on Amazon Drive Authors to Shield Their Names From AI (bloomberglaw.com)
• According to a group of digital advocacy organizations, Google LLC’s YouTube continues to collect behavioral data on children in violation of federal child privacy law despite a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) – YouTube Accused of Violating Pact Against Tracking Kids for Ads (bloomberglaw.com)
• Netflix Inc. and Hulu LLC told a California appeals court that they do not owe video programming fees to California municipalities and shouldn’t be required to obtain a state license to operate legally because a state law doesn’t apply – Netflix, Hulu Tell Court They Don’t Owe California Video Fees (bloomberglaw.com)
• A concert producer and a promoter must face a trademark infringement suit over their “Legacy Reunion of Earth, Wind & Fire Alumni” concerts after a Florida federal court judge found that there were enough ties to the Sunshine State to haul the two defendants into court there – Earth Wind & Fire Cover Band Must Face Original’s Suit In Fla. – Law360