Perspectives on Sports

Arent Fox LLP Sports practice leader Richard L. Brand and Corporate & Securities practice leader Steven A. Cohen were named Power Players in the SportsBusiness Journal’s ranking of the top legal influencers in the sports industry.

The 2016 edition of Legal 500 US has rated 46 Arent Fox LLP attorneys as national leaders in their field. In addition, 14 of the firm’s practice areas were ranked among the best in the country.

San Francisco Managing Partner and Sports group leader Richard Brand recently spoke with the San Francisco Business Times about off-the-field moves that are turning major baseball teams, like the Giants, into financial power hitters inside and outside the game.

After a difficult November, daily fantasy sports (DFS) operators will need to buckle up for an even more challenging road ahead.

On December 16, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied a group of former student-athletes’ bid to rehear the court’s earlier decision that student-athletes do not have to be compensated beyond the cost of attending college.

Arent Fox LLP served as counsel to the Brooklyn Nets on an extension of the team’s existing media rights agreement with Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) for the exhibition of the team’s games and ancillary programming.

On November 10, New York’s attorney general ordered DraftKings and FanDuel to stop accepting bets from the state’s residents, arguing the games constituted illegal gambling.

The Ninth Circuit’s decision is a big win for the NCAA and affirms its amateurism model and remains protected from having to treat college athletes like employees.

Earlier this summer, Los Angeles hosted the Special Olympics World Summer Games at venues throughout the city. The games featured more than 6,400 athletes from 177 countries who competed in 27 sports, including aquatics, gymnastics, track and field, basketball, football, tennis, and volleyball.

In a closely-watched fashion design case, the Sixth Circuit ruled last week that decorative designs on cheerleading uniforms are eligible for copyright protection.

Ever since football players at Northwestern University sought union certification in January 2014, their case has been closely watched by many in both the labor and sports arenas.

A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia recently upheld the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision to cancel six trademark registrations held by Pro Football, Inc. related to the Washington Redskins football team.

Arent Fox LLP served as counsel to Golden 1 Credit Union in the historic naming rights partnership agreement with the National Basketball Association’s Sacramento Kings.

Partner Rich Brand, leader of the Sports practice, was interviewed by CBS Radio in San Francisco to discuss the implications of a federal judge’s order to revoke the Washington Redskins trademark.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently obtained a temporary injunction to stop a Florida-based sweepstakes operation that has taken more than $28 million from consumers in the United States and abroad.

The FBI and United States Justice Department announced a joint investigation into the front-office of the St. Louis Cardinals, one of baseball’s top teams for the last two decades, for allegedly hacking into the internal networks of rival Houston Astros to steal proprietary player information.

Arent Fox LLP is pleased to announce that leading global referral guide Legal 500 has named its Sports group as the “Sports Practice of the Year” and recognized two partners as top lawyers in their field.

Technological advances make it easier than ever to purchase tickets for live sporting events via secondary ticket exchange. These advances create intense competition in the secondary ticket exchange business, as companies seek to capture revenue from fees.

President Barack Obama recently released his budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2016, and municipalities, sports franchises, and owners of sports and entertainment facilities across the country will pay special attention to one line in particular.

On December 30, 2014, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R), signed Public Law 414 into law, which excludes college athletes from the definition of “public employees” who are entitled to collectively bargain in Michigan.

Arent Fox Sports partner Richard L. Brand was quoted by The Baltimore Sun in an article about  television rights fees involving the Baltimore Orioles and the Washington Nationals.

On August 8, 2014, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Board of Directors (the Board), in a groundbreaking measure, voted 16–2 to grant the so-called “Power Five” conferences significantly expanded autonomy in how those conferences govern themselves.

In a landmark ruling for college athletes, US District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) cannot stop players from selling the rights to their names, images, and likenesses to the schools that they attend.

Arent Fox LLP served as outside counsel for the Brooklyn Nets in connection with the team’s new multi-million dollar training facility.