Sports & Entertainment

Sports:

• Michael Jordan is finalizing a sale of the Charlotte Hornets to a group led by Gabe Plotkin and Rick Schnall, ending his 13-year run as majority owner and the NBA’s only Black majority owner - Sources - Michael Jordan finalizing Charlotte Hornets sale - ESPN
• Golf:
  • As previously noted would likely happen, The U.S. Senate and Department of Justice (DOJ) opened probes into the bombshell merger of PGA Tour, Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf, and the European DP World Tour less than a week after it was announced the tours would be joining forces rather than LIV continuing its antitrust fight accusing the more established PGA of icing out golfers who played for LIV - Report - U.S. DOJ opens review of PGA Tour-Saudi alliance - ESPN
  • Phil Mickelson and the LIV Golf team the “HyFlyers” were sued by an Argentine corporation accusing the golf operation of federal trademark infringement, accusing them of copying its 20-year-old logo for popular skateboarding and lifestyle apparel brand Fallen - LIV Golf, Phil Mickelson's team sued by apparel company over logo - ESPN
• NIL: As we predicted last summer, the IRS issued a memo regarding NIL Collectives and warning that most organizations that develop paid name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities for collegiate student-athletes will, in many cases, be operating for a substantial nonexempt purpose—serving the private interests of student-athletes—which is more than incidental to any exempt purpose furthered by the activity; bottom line: most NIL Collectives will not be considered “charitable,” non-profit organizations for which contributions can receive a tax deduction meaning there will likely be taxes due - AM 2023-004 (irs.gov)
• Ja Morant has been suspended by the NBA for 25 games to start the 2023-2024 season after the latest social media post in which the Memphis Grizzlies start brandished a firearm after a similar incident in March led to an 8-game suspension; this second suspension comes with conditions before he can be reinstated to play - Sources - Grizzlies' Ja Morant suspended for 25 games by NBA - ESPN
• Baseball: The Oakland A’s took another step toward relocation to Las Vegas when the Nevada Senate passed a $380 million bill to help fund a new stadium for the Athletics in Las Vegas - Nevada Senate passes $380M bill to fund new A's stadium in Las Vegas - ESPN
• The Ninth Circuit reopened a former University of Arizona student-athlete's lawsuit alleging he was constantly harassed by his track teammates because they perceived him to be gay and his coaches did nothing to stop it, saying he put forward enough information to keep his case in court - 9th Circ. Reopens Student-Athlete's Harassment Suit - Law360

Entertainment:

• The National Music Publishers' Association filed a lawsuit accusing Twitter of willfully violating the copyrights of about 1,700 songs due to unauthorized use of music on the platform and seeking up to $250 million in damages. Twitter is among the few major social media companies without an agreement to pay the copyright holders of songs - Twitter sued by music publishers over copyright infringement (axios.com)
• Paul McCartney announced the Beatles will release a new song later in the year, using AI to isolate and “extricate” John Lennon’s voice from a demo tape recorded in the late-1970s, the latest in a wave of technologically reincarnated performers that implicates a checkerboard of state publicity rights - John Lennon AI Revival Adds to Debate Over IP Rights of the Dead (bloomberglaw.com)
• Microsoft-Activision:
  • The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requested that the US District Court for the Northern District of California issue a temporary restraining order against Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, which the FTC says would be anticompetitive for the video game industry. The court subsequently granted the order as the FTC is looking to prevent the merger from being completed while its in-house court is reviewing the matter - FTC to seek federal court order temporarily blocking Microsoft-Activision deal | CNN Business/US judge temporarily blocks Microsoft acquisition of Activision | Reuters
  • Two Ninth Circuit judges considering the state of California's bids to intervene in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) $18 million sexual harassment and retaliation settlement with Activision Blizzard expressed their frustrations with the judges saying they're "disappointed" the agencies couldn't work together - 9th Circ. Activision Judges Bummed At Calif.-EEOC Conflict - Law360
• The maker of popular quiz game "Black Card Revoked" has served Lionsgate Entertainment and others with a copyright suit in Ohio federal court over the upcoming Juneteenth horror film "The Blackening," arguing that the movie "directly" poaches themes and punchlines from the game - Card Game Co. Says Lionsgate Stole IP For 'The Blackening' - Law360 /The Ohio federal judge then ruled that the case should be heard in California and not Ohio on the basis that Ohio lacked jurisdiction - Lionsgate Will Face 'The Blackening' IP Suit In Calif., Not Ohio - Law360