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In June, we covered Daily Fantasy Sports (“DFS”) operators’ major legislative victory in New York: a bill legalizing and regulating their business, ending the potential for an outright prohibition on DFS in the state. That bill’s passage was akin to clinching the pennant.

With the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) announcing yesterday that it settled

On October 4, 2016, a federal court dismissed a putative class action against Valve Corporation (“Valve”) regarding its popular eSports game, Counter Strike Global Offensive (“CS:GO”). Specifically, the class claimed Valve violated a host of state laws and the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”).

In their complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that Valve’s

The United States Supreme Court, on September 29, 2016, granted certiorari in a case involving petitioner Simon Tam, his band, The Slants, and the band’s attempt to register their band name as a trademark. Commentators believe this case will resolve the question of whether the Lanham Act’s prohibition on the registration of disparaging or offensive

Last Friday, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sent warning letters to ten online marketers that were making Zika virus-protection claims.  The Center for Disease Control believes that the Zika virus is spread primarily through the bite of infected Aedes species mosquitoes.  The marketers in focus are currently advertising that their products repel Zika virus-carrying mosquitoes.  

Pokémon Go, released July 6, has unleashed a swarm of hopeful Pokémon trainers into the world, seeking to, as Pokémon famously says, “catch ‘em all.” And while Pokémon Go users are traversing cities, towns and hamlets to catch Pokémon, advertisers want to catch a little of that Pokémon magic.

Brands and local businesses are recognizing

From the Stanley Cup to the NBA Championship, there were some major sports victories these last few weeks.  Championship cities celebrated with fans flooding their streets for victory parades.  But one sports victory—a win that without question affects far more fans than those in the Steel City and Cleveland—did not occur on the court or

With its decision in VMG Salsoul v. Ciccone, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals created a circuit split that could greatly impact copyright infringement claims based on unlicensed music sampling.  For the advertising industry, this decision affects the risk assessment involved when creating or using music that contains “samples”.  Read on for more.

On

The tragic death of renowned recording artist Prince left many reminiscing about his meticulously crafted public image. In life, the law allowed Prince to control the commercial exploitations of his image.  At death, however, that control was lost.

Celebrities routinely harness their “images” as a means of generating revenue, relying on intellectual property and right