FiT Publishing

Originality is “[t]he sine qua non of copyright” (Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Tel. Ser. Co., 1991, p. 345), meaning without originality there is no copyright. Yet, what if original work capable of copyright protection existed on the bodies of celebrity athletes? Should courts use copyright law to protect the copyright owner at the expense of the athletes’ right to control the commercial use of their own bodies? These are the issues presented in Solid Oak Sketches, LLC v. Take- Two Interactive Software, Inc., (2016), a copyright action brought by tattooists against video game...Read more

“Sport Marketing and the Law” column of Sport Marketing Quarterly—have, through the appellate process, produced new decisions warranting attention from legal and sport marketing scholars and practitioners. These recent decisions have the potential to reshape certain aspects of sport marketing practice and reflect litigation trends of which savvy sport marketers should be aware.Read more

According to Fullerton (2010), licensing is a value adding process that provides sport organizations (both licensor and licensee) with significant revenue streams. For instance, the National Football League (NFL) is projected to earn $2.7 billion from the sales of logoed merchandise (Rovell, 2010). In order for sport organizations to maximize benefits as licensors and licensees, it is imperative that they develop and maintain a licensing plan for copyrighted marks and logos. A well-developed licensing plan would guide sport organizations in protecting the brand value of their own works and...Read more